00:00Hello and welcome, I'm Geeta Mohan and you're watching India Today Global, the top story.
00:21It was a defining moment when U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping
00:27met in South Korea's port city of Busan. Handshakes, smiles and whispers, the meat influenced
00:34policies both trade and foreign of these countries along with a shift in geopolitics.
00:40But a message that President Xi sent to the U.S. If MAGA was U.S. slogan, so for Beijing
00:46it is China first. The leaders decided on trade supplies ranging from soybeans to curbing
00:53the flow of fentanyl to the resumption of the flow of rare earth minerals. And the most
00:58important was President Trump's acknowledgement of China being a G2, a rare acknowledgement
01:04by an American president. More on this meat in this report by Mahashweta Lala.
01:12Curtains were down as the much anticipated and talked about meeting between leaders of the
01:17two worst, most powerful economies concluded in the South Korean port city of Busan. A meeting
01:24described as amazing by U.S. President Donald Trump with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping
01:30saw major issues that created ripples across the global economy settled at the table. Reaffirming
01:37his good relations with friend Xi, Trump touted the Chinese president as a great leader of a great
01:42country. This comes a day after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis cancelled H-1B visa in state universities,
01:51affecting several Chinese students. President Xi began by expressing his happiness to meet Trump
01:58after a long time. But without any theatrics, talked about the recent U.S.-China trade war
02:04with both countries imposing tariffs and stalling import of several goods.
02:08Given the different national conditions in China and the U.S., it cannot be avoided that we do not
02:16always see eye to eye with each other. And it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to
02:21have frictions now and then. And in the face of winds, waves and challenges, me and President Trump at
02:26the helm of China-U.S. relations should stay the right course and ensure the steady sailing forward of the
02:31giant ship of China-U.S. relations. The one hour 40 minutes meeting between the two leaders
02:37was attended by aides within the close circle of both the leaders.
02:42We are in agreement on so many elements. Large amounts, tremendous amounts of the
02:52soybeans and other farm products are going to be purchased immediately, starting immediately. If you
02:56notice, the presidency authorized yesterday for China to start, did you know that, right? China to start
03:05buying in very large quantities of soybeans and other things, which I appreciated. That was a very nice gesture.
03:13The meeting also brought an end to the long-stalled U.S. soybean exports into the Chinese markets. A huge
03:20relief to the U.S. farmers who voted for Trump during the presidential campaign, as a post on Truth Social
03:26announced the immediate purchase of soya beans by China. The Chinese have agreed to buy 12 million metric
03:34tons of soybeans during this season, right now, between now and the should be January. And then for the next
03:45three years, they're going to be buying a minimum of 25 million metric tons per per annum for the next three years.
03:55Fentanyl, another bone of contention in the trade, saw 10 percent tariffs being slashed from 20 percent.
04:03Many other things like that. We, on Fentanyl, we agreed that he was going to work very hard to
04:10stop the flow. I've agreed, as you know, I put a 20 percent tariff on China because of the Fentanyl
04:17coming in, which is a big tariff. And based on his statements today, I reduced it by 10 percent,
04:23so it's 10 percent instead of 20 percent effective immediately. I believe he's going to work very hard to
04:32stop the death that's coming in.
04:35The other major trade barrier that prompted China to impose tariffs on export control was to settle
04:42the dispute over rare earth mineral. Trump said China agreed to keep the rare earth flowing
04:48to the world as a part of a one-year agreement.
04:51We negotiated at the end of the year, but all of the rare earth has been settled.
04:56And that's for the world. I mean, you know, worldwide. This, I guess you could really say,
05:04this was a worldwide situation, not just the U.S. situation. So we continue to produce the
05:10rare earth and buy the rare earth and everything else, you know, when you see from other countries.
05:15But China is, that whole situation, that roadblock has gone now. There's no roadblock at all.
05:23The U.S. president also discussed the Russia-Ukraine war, but did not bring up China's purchase of
05:29Russian oil. The U.S. has imposed additional tariffs on India and accused it of fueling the
05:35Russian war machine by purchasing oil from Moscow. The Trump's top aides have time and again talked
05:43about China's close proximity to Russia. And being one of the biggest purchasers of Russian oil and energy,
05:50Washington never imposed additional tariffs on Beijing for this. But both the leaders did share
05:56concern over the Russia-Ukraine war and Chinese president agreed to work in tandem with President
06:02Trump on the issue. Ukraine came up very strongly. We talked about it for a long time and we're both
06:10going to work together to see if we can get something done. We agreed the sides are, you know, locked in
06:17fighting and sometimes you have to let them fight, I guess. Crazy. But he's going to help us and we're
06:22going to work together on Ukraine. There's not a lot more we can do. You know, he's been buying oil
06:28from Russia for a long time. It takes care of a big part of China. And, you know, I can say India's been
06:37very good on that front. But we didn't really discuss the oil. We discussed working together to see if we
06:45could get that war finished. Handshakes, whispers and smiles. Symbolic gestures projecting that both
06:53leaders played a polite and diplomatic game on world stage, though being two tough competing world
06:59economies. Trump's recognition of China in the G2 gives it an upper hand and pushes it further to
07:06pursue its goal to achieve the numero uno status in the world. This is perceived as a win for China as
07:13no U.S. president in the past has ever acknowledged China's G2 status. The group of two or the G2
07:20originated in the late 2000s as an idea for the U.S. and China to jointly steer global governance.
07:27Mahashwetalala, Bureau Report, India Today.
07:34And Rohit Sharma joins me for more on this. Rohit has been tracking what's happening
07:39on that front when it comes to U.S. and China.
07:42Rohit, a very important meeting there. There might not have been hugs.
07:48The warmth also not as evident as when you see Trump with Prime Minister Modi or even Xi Jinping.
07:55But substance, a lot got done.
08:00Absolutely, Geeta. You know, I think this was one of the most watched meetings after President Trump
08:05met with Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August of this year. I think a lot of Americans had a lot of interest
08:10in what these two leaders will meet and discuss. And we've seen a lot of things being said,
08:14especially on the American side about China. But I think what we saw today is, you know,
08:19the art of the deal by President Trump. He talks about extreme things. You know, he pulls
08:24everything at you and then he wants you to come down, sit together and discuss. And importantly,
08:29you know, as you said, you know, not a lot of warm shakes, you know, not a lot of photo ops,
08:35but important stuff. There was a meat in the stuff that they discussed. And that is what we were able
08:40to see. The other important thing is that, you know, President Trump has been pressed domestically
08:45on farmers by the farmers on the soybean and purchase of U.S. farm products and also on the rare earth element.
08:53And today, when he lands back in Washington, D.C., he will have a message that he can drive home.
08:58So I think it's a big win for President Trump. Yes, not a big trade deal. But I think as far as President
09:03Trump is concerned and also Xi Jinping, you know, they can both go home and talk about how they are working
09:09together to resolve issues with two more important deadlines. One, a visit by President Trump in April
09:14to China and then a follow on meeting next year by Chinese Premier in America, could be Florida,
09:20could be D.C. So I think a very important meeting and both parties can walk away by saying they achieved
09:25a lot today. Right. When it comes to the rare earth minerals deal, are there details that are emerging,
09:34the lifting of the controls that China had put and imposed? Is it going to be lifted? He did
09:42written to various countries not to export to U.S. Will that be lifted? Because we are looking at
09:47tariffs coming down a huge by a huge notch, which makes India hold that unenviable position of maybe a
09:56country with the highest tariff rates right now with the United States of America.
10:02Right. I mean, Chinese, I mean, although they'd be paying 47 percent, still less than what India is
10:07paying today at 50 percent. And yes, you know, after all that's being said and done, it's not a trade
10:12deal, but at least an agreement, a framework that we were talking about, Gita. The other thing is,
10:17everybody on that table that we saw from Lutnik to the other people on the table, their focus,
10:25I think, would not shift towards India. I think they've done what they wanted to do with China,
10:29and India remains the only other major power in the world that hasn't been able to come to a trade
10:34agreement. So yes, India will be feeling the pressure. At least New Delhi would be wanting
10:39to get a trade deal done. We've heard from sources here in Washington, D.C. and New Delhi that good
10:44things are happening. There's progress. But I think now President Trump and his team will move and shift
10:49their focus towards getting that elusive trade deal with India.
10:52India. Okay, stay on with us. We'll discuss more of the U.S.-China aspect in detail. But ahead of
11:01the meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, something very important happened. One is that
11:06China played its card opening up and buying soybean from the United States of America. But on the other
11:13hand, Trump also had a hand to play. He wanted to play the nuclear race card. President Trump ordered the
11:20U.S. military to immediately start the testing of nuclear weapons on an equal basis with China and
11:27Russia. The order was given minutes before the historic and amazing meeting between U.S. President
11:33Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. It's also a major shift in U.S. policy
11:39at a time when tensions are brewing among the nuclear armed superpowers. Now, in a post on Truth Social,
11:46Trump said, and I quote, the United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country, Russia is
11:53second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years. Because of other countries'
12:00testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis.
12:08It had to do with others. They seem to all be nuclear testing. Russia? We have more nuclear weapons than
12:16anybody. We don't do testing. We've halted it years, many years ago. But with others doing testing,
12:24I think it's appropriate that we do also. Are there details around the testing center? Like where, when?
12:29We wouldn't be. It'll be announced. You know, we have test sites. It'll be announced.
12:33Well, it was not clear if Trump was referring to a nuclear weapons test or a test of a nuclear
12:41capable weapon system. In fact, such a test would be the first in 33 years. Since the 1990s, not one of
12:49the world's three major military powers conducted a nuclear weapons test. China conducted its last known
12:56testing test in 1996. The U.S. last conducted a nuclear test in 1992, when it began a voluntary
13:03moratorium on such explosive testing. Though the date is not yet announced, a report by the
13:09Congressional Research Service says it would take 24 to 36 months for the U.S. to test a nuclear weapon
13:16after the President gives the order. Now, the announcement also follows Russia's successful
13:21test of a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable cruise missile, as well as a nuclear-powered
13:27torpedo. China and Russia have been developing and testing advanced weapons capable of delivering
13:34nuclear warheads. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, Russia has around 6,000 warheads,
13:41and the U.S. accounts for nearly 90 percent of the world's arsenal. China may also have 1,000 nuclear
13:47warheads by the end of the decade. During a military parade in Beijing in September, China showed off
13:53its nuclear triad for the first time, systems that can launch nuclear-capable missiles by land,
13:59sea, and air. U.S. President Donald Trump also said he has given South Korea approval to build a nuclear-powered
14:07nuclear-powered submarines.
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