GYEONGJU: US President Donald Trump on Thursday morning said he directed the Pentagon to begin testing nuclear weapons “on an equal basis” with Russia and China.
The president made these statements before meeting his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, for a high-stakes trade summit, inserting nuclear issues into the discussion.
The announcement signaled a reversal of decades of United States nuclear policy that could have far-reaching consequences for relations with U.S. , though Trump’s post on Truth Social included very few details about what the tests would entail.
The last nuclear weapon test in the United States was held in 1992, before President George H.W. Bush implemented a moratorium on such exercises at the conclusion of the Cold War.
It is pertinent to mention here that President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met on Thursday in Busan, South Korea, shaking hands for a brief photo op before closed-door talks focused on tariffs, fentanyl measures and access to rare earths.
“We’re going to have a very successful meeting,” Trump told reporters, while noting of Xi, “But he’s a very tough negotiator.”
Asked whether the two would announce a trade deal, Trump said, “Could be.” Officials on both sides signalled hopes for a pause in escalating measures, with potential gestures including a delay to tariff hikes and eased export curbs on strategic minerals.
Whereas, Chinese President Xi Jinping said “it feels very warm” seeing President Donald Trump again.
“We have spoken on the phone three times, exchanged several letters and stayed in close contact,” he said.
“Given our different national conditions, we do not always see eye to eye with each other, and it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have friction now and then.”
He said negotiating teams had “reached basic consensus” and “made encouraging progress,” adding he is “ready to continue working with you to build a solid foundation for China US relations.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping said China’s development “goes hand in hand with” President Donald Trump’s vision to “make America Great Again,” adding the two nations “must be partners and friends.”
“This is what history has taught us and what reality demands,” he said, hailing “basic consensus” and “encouraging progress” in trade talks and telling Trump, “Mr President, I’m ready to work with you to build a solid foundation for US-China relations.”
Xi praised Trump’s enthusiasm for “settling various regional hotspot issues,” citing his “great contribution to the recent conclusion of the Gaza ceasefire agreement” and to a Cambodia–Thailand peace deal.
