President of the United States Donald Trump has been doing a complicated balancing act in the past few days during his Asia visit — he said that he would cut tariffs for China after a “12 out of 10” meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea; he called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “tough as hell”; and alongside this, Trump also praised Pakistan and once again claimed he had brokered the India-Pak ceasefire following Operation Sindoor, a claim that India has always refuted emphatically.
According to an Associated Press report datelined “Aboard Air Force One, Oct 30”, the US president told mediapersons on his official aircraft that his face-to-face conversation with Xi today was a roaring success.
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping had a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea. They met in Busan, South Korea, a port city about 76km south of Gyeongju, the main venue for APEC.
On the aircraft, Trump said that he would cut tariffs on China, while Beijing had agreed to allow the export of rare earth elements and start buying American soybeans.
The president told reporters aboard Air Force One that the US would lower tariffs implemented earlier this year as punishment on China for its selling of chemicals used to make fentanyl from 20 per cent to 10 per cent. That brings the total combined tariff rate on China down from 57 per cent to 47 per cent.
Referring to the meeting with Xi during his Asia trip, Trump said, “I guess on the scale from 0 to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12. I think it was a 12.”
Trump also said that he would go to China in April and Xi would come to the US “sometime after that”. The president said that they also discussed the export of more advanced computer chips to China, saying that Nvidia would be in talks with Chinese officials.
Trump said that the US could sign a trade deal with China “pretty soon”, as the two nations “do not have too many major stumbling blocks”.
“I have great respect and love for Prime Minister Modi”
Yesterday, speaking at the main APEC event, President Trump referred to the US-India trade talks and expressed his “love” for PM Modi.
He said, “If you look at India and Pakistan… so, I’m doing a trade deal with India and I have great respect and love, as you know, for Prime Minister Modi, we have a great relationship.”
Trump also said, “Prime Minister Modi is the nicest looking guy… he looks like you’d like to have your father like… he’s a killer… he’s tough as hell.”
However, instead of elaborating on the trade deal with India, a country that Trump has hit with a 50 per cent punitive tariff for buying Russian crude oil and, therefore, allegedly fuelling the Ukraine war, the US president once again picked up his favourite topic: the India-Pakistan ceasefire in May 2025.
Trump had landed in South Korea on Wednesday morning from Japan as part of his three-nation tour of Asia, starting with Malaysia.
While emphasising that he had a “great relationship” with Modi, Trump reiterated that he had used trade to resolve the war between India and Pakistan.
“I called Prime Minister Modi. I said, ‘We can’t make a trade deal with you… (He said) ‘No, no, we must make a trade…’ I said, ‘No, we can’t. You are starting a war with Pakistan. We’re not going to do it,’” claimed Trump.
He also praised Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, calling him “a great fighter” and “a great guy”.
Trump claimed that after calling New Delhi, he called Islamabad, and again used trade as a pressure point.
“Then I called Pakistan. I said, ‘We’re not going to do trade with you because you’re fighting with India and you know, [you are] two nuclear nations. And they said, ‘No, no, no, you should let us fight.’ They both said that,” he added.
Apparently, both India and Pakistan caved in after a couple of days. “After literally two days, they called up, they said, ‘We understand’, and they stopped fighting. How is that? Isn’t that amazing? Now, you think Biden would have done that?” Trump said.
However, hours earlier in Tokyo, Trump had said that he managed to get the India-Pakistan war stopped in 24 hours. The US president is known to make such inconsistent comments.
In Tokyo, while speaking at a reception and dinner with business leaders on Tuesday, Trump said, “Seven planes were shot down, seven brand new, beautiful planes were shot down, and they were going at it … two big nuclear powers.”
Trump said that India and Pakistan argued that war had nothing to do with trade with the US. “(They said) one thing has nothing to do with the other. I said this, it has a lot to do with the other… two nuclear powers… we get that nuclear dust all over the place. All of you are affected, right? And we said, ‘No, we’re not doing any deals if you’re going to fight.’ And within about 24 hours, that was the end of that. It was amazing, actually,” the US president claimed.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim dozens of times that he “helped settle” the conflict between India and Pakistan.
India has consistently maintained that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.
India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
Trump brokers Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords in Malaysia
The US president’s first stop in his three-nation Asia tour was Malaysia, where Air Force One touched down on October 26.
A White House press release said: “In yet another bold display of strength and unmatched dealmaking ability, President Donald J. Trump kicked off his historic Asia tour with a powerhouse visit to Malaysia — brokering historic peace accords, slashing trade barriers, and locking in game-changing critical minerals deals.”
The White House press release added that during this visit, “President Trump brokered the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords”.
It said: “Thanks to the decisive leadership and pursuit of peace by the Trump Administration, the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand joined President Trump in signing an historic peace agreement to end the military conflict between the two countries — saving millions of lives.”
Several trade and mineral deals involving the US and Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia were also signed during this trip, said the White House.
