U.S., China hope to make progress on tariffs as Trump and Xi meet in South Korea

President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will meet in Busan, South Korea, to discuss tariffs, fentanyl and rare-earth minerals.

GYEONGJU, South Korea — President Donald Trump said Thursday after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that he was lowering tariffs in exchange for a crackdown on fentanyl and that he would visit China in April.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington, Trump said he would reduce his fentanyl tariff on China to 10% from 20%, effective immediately, after Xi agreed to intensify China’s efforts to stem the illicit international flow of precursor chemicals for the deadly opioid.

He said his meeting with Xi was “amazing,” rating it a “12” on a scale of one to 10, and said that with few major obstacles remaining, a sweeping trade deal would soon be ready.

Trump said he would visit China in April, and that Xi would visit the United States “some time after that,” either at Mar-a-Lago or in Washington.

Xi told Trump that the U.S. and China should maintain “communication at all levels” to avoid a “vicious cycle of retaliation.”