Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025 (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty)

EA on Pat Kenny Show: Spin v. Reality on Trump-Xi Meeting, US-India, Nuclear Weapons, Gaza, and Government Shutdown

I joined Indian and Pakistani outlets on Thursday to examine how China’s Xi Jinping manuevered Donald Trump over tariffs, easing some of the pressure on Beijing while maintaining leverage over rare earth minerals.

I cut through the spin around the meeting in South Korea, examining the terms of the “truce” between the US and China while highlighting the issues that remain.

Watch Pakistan TV from 17:29

I chat with Sana Maqbool about the outcomes from the Xi-Trump meeting, beginning with the caution that a “trade war” may not be over.

This is not a trade deal. This isn’t even a detailed trade framework. It’s a tactical manuever.

I explain the conclusion by looking at provisions over tariffs, rare earth minerals, China’s purchases of US soybeans, and Beijing’s controls on precurors for the opioid fentanyl.

China has given Trump the meeting. They have given him the PR. They have made him feel good.

They have used this to get some negotiating space while maintaining their leverage.

Watch India’s News 9 from 7:14:

The other panellists are Hong Kong economist Andrew K P Leung; Ambassador Meera Shankar; and Professor Swaran Singh of Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Watch India’s NDTV from 1:42

The other panellists are Einar Tangen of the Taihe Institute in Beijing; Andrew K P Leung; and Professor Andrew Latham of Macalester College in Minnesota.