Tourists visiting Nanjing Road scenic spot in Shanghai, China, on October 20, 2025.
Null Photo | Null Photo | Getty Images
Many people in China welcomed Thursday’s meeting between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, after months of heightened tensions between the two countries.
Alex Hongcai Xu, chairman of Beijing Hongke Consulting, said in Mandarin that tensions ease and a “positive atmosphere” is created every time the two leaders meet, as translated by CNBC. “This atmosphere is favorable for negotiations.”
“Both sides reducing tariffs to below 10% will benefit capital flows and cooperation,” Xu said. He noted that China is likely to buy more U.S. soybeans and U.S.-made Boeing aircraft.
Following the meeting, President Trump announced on Thursday that the United States would cut in half its 20% fentanyl-related tariffs on China, bringing the total tariffs on Chinese goods to 47%. This marked a sharp reversal from his earlier threat to impose additional 100% tariffs on China starting Saturday.
But Trump offered few details about whether the U.S. would encourage more investment in China, saying only that “China has investment.” [in the U.S.] And they will invest. ”
Xu said he hopes the US government will allow more Chinese companies to invest locally, which he said will create jobs in the US and increase domestic production while reducing China’s exports.
Meanwhile, Chinese companies are seeking opportunities overseas as the domestic economy slows.
“If the U.S. policy becomes more certain or offers the prospect of lower tariffs, at least China’s investment in other countries could increase,” said Luke Li, an energy manufacturing and trader in Beijing, according to a Chinese translation by CNBC.
“As long as the two countries hold talks, there will be progress,” Li said. “We are most interested in whether the US tariffs on China will be adjusted.”
When Xi and Trump met in South Korea on Thursday morning local time, “China-US Summit in Busan” became the top trending hashtag on Weibo, a social media platform similar to X.
“Rate cut” was the second most popular hashtag, and the fourth-ranked trending topic was also about the Trump-Xi meeting.
However, most of the posts came from Chinese news outlets. According to a translation by CNBC, users’ comments were simple, such as “Long live China-US friendship” and “Mutual success between China and the US.” It is unclear whether each comment represents a different user.
One of the few posts about the summit on the popular app Red Note was written by Song Qinghui, an economist and frequent social media commentator. “Looking forward to the early arrival of the honeymoon period in China and America,” he wrote in Chinese.
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The Chinese government has restricted access to X and many other U.S. social media platforms while maintaining tight control over domestic media outlets.
Although Chinese state media initially focused on China’s latest space exploration plans and downplayed the Trump-Xi meeting, choosing instead to highlight Xi’s attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economic summit, official coverage increased after the talks began. China’s Foreign Ministry did not confirm the meeting between Trump and Xi until Wednesday afternoon.
State broadcaster CCTV spent much of Thursday morning reporting on China’s latest space mission, Shenzhou 21, but began sending regular updates about the talks for the first time after the two leaders met.
The Chinese government officially read out Mr. Xi’s opening remarks, saying that the Chinese government is ready to cooperate with the United States, and that Mr. Xi said that “China’s development and revitalization are aligned with President Trump’s vision of ‘making America great again.'”
“Trump” [has been] Overconfident. He doesn’t listen,” Xu said, referring to the US president’s focus on increasing tariffs.
“If the United States and China are in turmoil, can America be great again?” he said. “no way.”
