Trump orders nuclear weapons tests ahead of high-risk meeting with Xi

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for their first face-to-face talks in six years in South Korea, hoping to secure a trade deal and end a months-long trade war.

The two leaders met Wednesday night Eastern time Thursday morning local time in Busan, South Korea. Before the meeting, Trump said it could last three to four hours.

Cameras captured the two leaders greeting each other and shaking hands.

About an hour before the meeting began, Trump posted on his social media platform touting America’s nuclear capability and said he had ordered the Pentagon to resume nuclear testing on an “equal basis” with other countries’ testing programs, which will begin “immediately.” The United States stopped testing nuclear weapons in 1992 under a voluntary moratorium.

“The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country,” Trump said in the post, adding that “Russia is second and China is a distant third, but will be even in five years.”

After negotiations in Malaysia earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said U.S. and Chinese officials agreed on a framework around trade talks. But ultimately, it’s up to the two leaders to close the deal.

Even if truces are signed and deadlines extended, experts say any progress will only offer temporary relief: short-term adjustments rather than structural changes to one of the world’s most consequential relationships.

What is on the table in the conversations?

Weeks ago, China announced it would dramatically expand restrictions on rare earth minerals, key materials for produce computer chips that are needed for everything, including smartphones, artificial intelligence systems and defense technology. The new rules mean that foreign companies must obtain approval from the Chinese government to export products that have even traces of certain rare earth which are originally from China.

kissed He said China agreed to delay its restrictions for a year. But that’s not much time, certainly not enough to build viable alternatives to China.

And experts say restrictions on rare earths are part of Beijing’s long-term plans. While they may delay these controls, they still give Beijing powerful influence for years to come.

Restrictions on rare earth exports are part of a “broader shift in China’s approach to economic diplomacy,” said Neil Thomas, a member of the China Analysis Center of the Asia Society Policy Institute.

“It has been studying the US export control regime and absorbing the lessons of how powerful a diplomatic tool it can be…Beijing wants Washington to reduce its own export controls on China,” Thomas said.

Tariffs will also be a major topic of talks.

In response to China’s rare earth controls, Trump threatened to impose additional 100% tariffs on China. Bessent says that threat is no longer on the table.

But on November 10 There’s another deadline: That’s when the 90-day truce on each country’s sky-high tariffs expires. Bessent says he hopes for an extension, but even with this truce, tariffs on goods from both countries remain in the double digits.

Trump imposed 20% tariffs on China earlier this year over claims that China has failed to crack down on the export of chemicals used to make fentanyl. Trump said he hopes to reduce those fentanyl tariffs. The flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals has been a long-standing challenge between the United States and China.

Bessent said the deal with China also addresses concerns of U.S. soybean farmers. China has turned to Argentina for soybeans during the trade war, a shift that has deepened financial pressure on American farmers.

Bloomberg and Reuters They report that China has purchased some shipments of soybeans, their first purchases of this year’s US crop. ABC News has reached out to the White House and the Treasury Department for comment. While this could be a temporary relief, the long term The trend is that China has been steadily reducing its dependence on the United States.

Further, TikTok’s agreement to keep the popular application operational in the United States could be finalized during its meeting. Bessent said on Sunday that his “mission was to get the Chinese to agree to approve the transaction” and he believes “we successfully achieved that” during his negotiations in Malaysia.

The White House announced last month that the deal would create a joint venture majority owned by American investors, with Oracle overseeing the algorithm.

Some experts say President Xi is seeking President Trump to signal a shift in U.S. support for Taiwan, the democratically governed island that Beijing claims as its own.

Trump downplayed the issue and told reporters that he doesn’t know if they will even mention Taiwan, which depends on U.S. political and military support.

Also on the foreign policy front, Trump wants Xi to use his influence over Russian President Vladimir Putin to help end the war in Ukraine and stop buying Russian energy.