Gyeongju: Against the backdrop of a destructive trade war that has shaken economies and rattled the global order, US President Donald Trump and his foremost rival, Chinese President Xi Jinping, projected an image of mutual respect as they met in person for the first time in six years.

A lot was riding on the meeting, even if many of the outcomes on tariff relief and export controls had been pre-packaged for the leaders to sign off by their lead negotiators days earlier.

Tensions between the superpowers had dialled up in recent weeks as they jostled for leverage, and so it was no coincidence that Trump walked into the meeting having announced moments earlier that the US would resume testing nuclear weapons.

But after about an hour and 40 minutes of talks, Trump and Xi emerged together from South Korea’s Gimhae military air base in the tourist town of Busan, which served as the backdrop for the consequential sit-down on the sidelines of the APEC summit. They shook hands, then Trump immediately boarded Air Force One to fly back to Washington, DC.

Once on board, Trump gave an effusive endorsement of the meeting’s success.

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“I guess, on the scale from zero to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was at a 12,” he told reporters.

But from what is known of Thursday’s agreement, Trump’s achievement appears mostly limited to de-escalation, stepping back from the brinkmanship and latest round of restrictions rather than gaining ground.

According to Trump, China’s roadblock on rare earths is “gone now” after Beijing agreed to pause its export controls on the critical sector for one year.