For subscribers

• Trump and Xi's meeting eased US-China trade war tensions, addressing rare earths, soyabeans, and fentanyl. Trump called it"amazing," rating it "12 out of 10."
• China will increase soyabean purchases and ease rare earth export controls. The US will cut fentanyl tariffs and suspend some trade investigations for a year.
• Analysts see it as a"tactical pause" rather than a breakthrough. It averts escalation, promoting stability but key issues like technology controls remain.

AUSTIN/SINGAPORE – A meeting of about 100 minutes on a cloudy morning in an unglamorous building off an airport tarmac in South Korea appears to have bought some respite in the US-China trade war.

Several pain points in the trade between the world’s largest economies – rare earths, soya beans and fentanyl-related tariffs – were addressed during the first face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping since 2019.