President Donald Trump was in a positive mood after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded on Thursday. The summit between the two presidents was closed to the media.
The two world leaders, and their respective delegations, met for a little under two hours. Neither Trump nor any representative from his delegation reportedly shared much with the media after the meeting and before departing South Korea. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick was seen giving a thumbs-up to media members before boarding Air Force One to return to the U.S., NBC News reported.
While aboard Air Force One, Trump spoke to reporters but did not announce a trade deal with China, as he did after meeting with leaders of other countries on his Asia trip. However, he did call the conversation productive and said that the U.S. and China did “come to conclusion on many points” after the approximately hour and 40-minute bilateral talk. He also said he would be decreasing tariffs on China by 10%.
Trump was complimentary about Xi and the meeting, saying it was “amazing.” The president categorized it as a “12” on a scale of one to 10, according to NBC News.
“He’s a tremendous leader of a very powerful country,” Trump said of Xi.
TRUMP AND XI SUPERPOWER SUMMIT: HERE’S WHAT’S AT STAKE
The meeting between the leaders of the world’s two superpowers was the main event on Trump’s Asia trip. Geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. have been high lately, with the two engaged in a trade war amid Trump’s decision to increase tariffs earlier this year. The president’s revelation that he would decrease Chinese tariffs lowers the amount to 47%. The decrease will go into effect immediately, Trump said.
He said his meeting with Xi was a “great success” and “great honor” and that there were tentative plans for the Chinese president to visit the U.S. in April, either in Washington, D.C., or Palm Beach, Florida.