Laura Bicker,China correspondent ,
Anthony Zurcher,North America correspondent and
Flora Drury
US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, have met for the first time in six years - raising hopes for a de-escalation of tensions between the world's two biggest economies.
Trump described the talks, held in South Korea, as "amazing", while Beijing said they had reached a consensus to resolve "major trade issues".
Relations have been tense since Trump began imposing new tariffs on China, prompting retaliation from Beijing. The two agreed to a truce in May, but tensions remained high.
Thursday's talks did not lead to a formal agreement but the announcements suggest they are closer to a deal - the details of which have long been subject to behind-the-scenes negotiations.
Trade deals normally take years to negotiate. Countries around the world have been thrown into resolving differences with Trump within a matter of months, after he imposed sweeping tariffs - or import taxes - on some of his top trade partners.
Some of those key trading partners are in Asia, where Trump has spent the last several days.
Tariff 'truce' and movement on rare earths
China has agreed to suspend export control measures it had placed on rare earths, crucial for the production of everything from smartphones to fighter jets. This has been seen as a key win for Trump from his meeting with Xi.
A jubilant Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he had also got China to start immediately buying a "tremendous amounts of soybeans and other farm products". Retaliatory tariffs on American soybeans by Beijing had effectively halted imports from the US, harming US farmers - who constitute a key voting block for Trump.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later told Fox Business that China had agreed to buy 12 million metric tonnes of soybeans this season, and would follow that up with a minimum of 25 million tonnes per year for the next three years.
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