Following meeting with Trump: Xi warns of disrupted supply chains

Following a meeting with US president Donald Trump, China's head of state and party, Xi Jinping, has warned of a breakdown in supply chains.

To drive economic growth, the stability of industrial and supply chains must be guaranteed, Xi said at the summit of heads of state and government of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Gyeongju, South Korea. He urged adherence to the principle of “extending chains rather than breaking them”.

“We should actively seek more areas of common interest and support the open development of supply chains,” Xi said. It was the Chinese leader's first public statement after his meeting with Trump in South Korea on Thursday.

Finance minister Scott Bessent represented the US at APEC, as Trump had already departed. In his speech, Bessent addressed his country's efforts to diversify supply chains. “From critical minerals and magnets to semiconductors and energy, the United States is investing with its trading partners to build resilient production networks that reduce dependence on vulnerable sectors,” he said, according to his department, at the closed-door opening event.

Partial agreement on contentious issues

China and the US have agreed to roll back some economic restrictions against each other. China is once again buying soybeans from the United States and is suspending its export controls on rare earths, which were announced on October 9.

The US is lowering its tariffs against China, which were introduced because of the opioid Fentanyl, to 10 percent, but other surcharges will remain in place. Additionally, Washington is withdrawing measures against companies suspected of helping US-sanctioned firms from China to circumvent US export controls.

Observers viewed the agreement as an interim result in the trade conflict between the world's two largest economies. The latest pause in the trade dispute will ease fears of a return to embargo-level tariffs of 100 percent or more, which both sides threatened during the escalation phase in April, wrote analyst Gabriel Wildau of the consulting firm Teneo. The partial agreement also appears fragile, as new tensions in trade or security could prompt one or both sides to take new coercive measures.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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