Xi-Trump in South Korea: 10% reduction in tariffs on China, agreement on rare earths

Today's headlines: A further 700 Indonesian children poisoned by Prabowo's free meal; Singapore and Vietnam sign agreement on rice exports on the sidelines of APEC; New report links the deaths of 1.7 million Indians in 2022 to air pollution; Al-Sharaaa in Riyadh says Syria has attracted billion in foreign investment.

CHINA - UNITED STATES

The last time was in June 2019 in Osaka, for the G20. Trump and Xi Jumping met again for 100 minutes in South Korea, in Busan. In the last stop of Trump's Asian tour, he described the face-to-face meeting as a great success. He announced a reduction in tariffs on China from 20% to 10%, with a new rate of 47%. Beijing has reportedly agreed to export rare earth elements and to start buying American soybeans. The export of Nvidia chips was discussed. However, there is no news of a final agreement on TikTok. Trump said he will visit China in April and that Xi will come to the United States ‘sometime after that’.

INDONESIA

Indonesian authorities are investigating cases of food poisoning that affected nearly 700 children in Yogyakarta province this week. This occurred after students consumed meals prepared as part of President Prabowo's important free school meal programme. The programme, launched in January, was one of his main election promises, but according to data from the local non-governmental organisation JPPI, around 15,000 children fell ill.

SINGAPORE - VIETNAM

On Thursday 30 October, Singapore and Vietnam signed an agreement providing for Vietnam's support for the unhindered export of an agreed quantity of rice to Singapore. The memorandum of cooperation on rice trade was signed on the sidelines of APEC. The memorandum of cooperation lays a “solid foundation” for promoting stable and sustainable rice trade. This will help strengthen bilateral food security by avoiding unnecessary trade restrictions.

INDIA

According to the latest report published by the scientific journal Lancet, the deaths of more than 1.7 million Indians in 2022 can be attributed to air pollution. Published yesterday, the ninth edition of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, in collaboration with the WHO, also highlighted that in 2024, Indians recorded a record number of hours of exposure to heatwaves.

SYRIA - SAUDI ARABIA

Syria has attracted foreign investment totalling around billion so far this year, President Al-Sharaa told the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh. During a session with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he added that Syrian laws had been amended to allow foreign investors to transfer funds. ‘We want to rebuild Syria,’ Al-Sharaa said, adding that the world can benefit from it as a ‘trade corridor’.

KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakhstan's National Security Committee said it had foiled a terrorist attack in Almaty, the country's largest city, in which several foreign nationals were involved. Five of them have been arrested and investigations are ongoing. Eight Kazakh citizens are also under arrest for “terrorist propaganda”, and since the beginning of the year, a total of 89 people have been charged with such crimes, including six foreigners.

RUSSIA - VIETNAM

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Overchuk has announced that Russia and Vietnam will jointly build a new railway line crossing China and Mongolia to expand the potential of the various North-South Corridor routes throughout South and Central Asia and strengthen the already very “friendly” bilateral relations between Moscow and Hanoi.