Many people in China cheered the meeting on Thursday between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, following months of escalating bilateral tensions.
Every time the two leaders meet, it helps ease tensions and creates a “positive atmosphere,” said Alex Hongcai Xu, chair of Beijing Honglve Consulting, speaking in Mandarin and translated by CNBC. “This atmosphere is beneficial for negotiations. Each side lowering tariffs to below 10% would benefit capital flows and cooperation,” Xu added. He noted that China can likely buy more U.S. soybeans and U.S.-made Boeing airplanes.
After the meeting, Trump announced that the U.S. would halve a 20% fentanyl-related tariff on China, bringing the total duty on Chinese goods to 47%. This marked a sharp reversal from his earlier threat to impose an additional 100% tariffs on China starting Saturday. However, Trump provided few details on whether the U.S. would encourage more Chinese investment, saying only that “they have investments [in the U.S.] and they will invest.”
Xu expressed hope that Washington would allow more Chinese companies to invest locally. He said such investments would create jobs in the U.S., boost domestic production, and reduce Chinese exports.
On the other hand, Chinese businesses have been seeking opportunities abroad amid a slowing domestic economy. “If the U.S. policy can be more certain, or offer the prospect of lowered tariffs, then at least Chinese investments in other countries can increase,” said Luke Li, who works in energy-related manufacturing and trade in Beijing, according to a CNBC translation of his remarks in Chinese. “As long as they meet, there will be progress,” Li noted, emphasizing that “we are most focused on U.S. tariffs on China and whether this will be adjusted.”
Meanwhile, Beijing continues to restrict access to X and many other U.S. social media platforms while maintaining tight control over domestic news outlets. Chinese state media initially focused on Beijing’s latest space exploration plans and downplayed the Trump-Xi meeting, opting instead to highlight Xi’s attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ meeting.
Official coverage, however, ramped up after the talks began. The Chinese foreign ministry did not confirm the Trump-Xi meeting until Wednesday afternoon. State broadcaster CCTV, which dedicated much of Thursday morning to covering China’s latest Shenzhou-21 space mission, began sending regular updates about the meeting only after the two leaders met.
China’s official readout of Xi’s opening remarks said Beijing was ready to work with Washington, quoting Xi as saying that “China’s development and revitalization goes hand in hand with President Trump’s vision to ‘Make America Great Again.'”
Despite the hopeful tone, Xu offered a critical view of the U.S. president’s approach. “Trump [has been] overly confident. He doesn’t listen,” Xu said, referring to the focus on ramping up tariffs. “If the U.S. and China are in a mess, can the U.S. become great again? No way.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/30/xi-trump-meeting-sparks-optimism-in-china-but-many-wonder-what-comes-next.html
