Chinese officials have made life difficult for White House staffers, American journalists, and Secret Service agents as several chaotic scenes played out on Thursday in Beijing during President Trump&#8217;s visit to the communist nation.
In one incident, a Secret Service agent accompanying the White House press pool was denied entry into a secure area because he was carrying a firearm, which is standard protocol for Secret Service agents providing protection in foreign countries, The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/14/world-news/us-chinese-officials-in-shouting-and-shoving-matches-behind-scenes-of-trump-xi-summit/">reported</a>. Chinese officials would only allow the agent to move into the secure area if he handed over his firearm, resulting in a standoff and heated argument.
The standoff reportedly delayed the press pool for 30 minutes as they tried to reach Trump&#8217;s motorcade. A second agent who had already been allowed into the secure area came back to escort the journalists. The chaos was captured on the BBC&#8217;s live feed from the press pool.
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As reporters were held back, multiple people expressed their frustration with the Chinese official, telling him, &#8220;We have to go!&#8221;
&#8220;U.S. press, we are going!&#8221; one woman said as the reporters finally pushed through.
One person was heard calling the incident a &#8220;sh*t show.&#8221;
As they moved toward the motorcade, more Chinese officials ran toward them to try to stop them, according to the Post. The American journalists, however, made it to the president&#8217;s convoy.
In a separate incident on Thursday, a female White House staffer was trampled by Chinese reporters as the reporters attempted to get into the room where Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were set to meet. The White House aide was reportedly bruised in the incident, but she didn&#8217;t sustain any major injuries.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-set-to-land-in-china-for-high-stakes-talks-with-xi?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=LIVE+UPDATES%3A+Trump+And+Xi+Agree+Key+Oil+Chokepoint+Must+Remain+Open">FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES</a>
The messy scenes took place shortly after China rolled out the red carpet for President Trump with a showy welcome as Trump stepped off Air Force One on Wednesday night. Trump and Xi engaged in bilateral talks for much of Thursday before the U.S. President accompanied Xi to a banquet at the Great Hall of the People.
&#8220;It was a fantastic day,&#8221; Trump said during a speech at the banquet. &#8220;And in particular, I want to thank President Xi, my friend, for this magnificent welcome.&#8221;
&#8220;We had extremely positive and productive conversations and meetings today with the Chinese delegation earlier,&#8221; Trump added.
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Xi Holds Welcoming Ceremony For Trump

Secret Service Agent, Chinese Security Get Into Standoff During Trump Visit

China

Donald Trump

Secret Service

Xi Jinping

While there won’t be bombs dropping, President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to China will be no walk in the park. While trade remains a thorn in U.S.-Chinese relations, there is more underneath the surface. If Trump wants to advance America’s interests in Beijing, there are topics he needs to address.
Human rights is one of those issues. Millions of people are suffering under the oppression of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Christians in particular are subject to arrests, torture, and indefinite detention without a trial or access to a lawyer.
The case of Pastor Ezra Jin typifies the anti-Christian discrimination of the CCP. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/10/12/nx-s1-5571936/zion-church-ezra-jin-arrest-china-christian">Arrested</a> in October, along with dozens of church members, Pastor Jin has been imprisoned without charges since then. In addition, the CCP is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-targets-lawyers-defending-jailed-christian-leaders-6d0d72c8">harassing</a> his lawyer, eliminating whatever chance Jin has of getting a fair trial. Thankfully, the public pressure campaign led by Jin’s daughter, Senate staffer Grace Jin Drexel, has brought Jin’s case to President Trump’s attention. Trump <a href="https://x.com/juliamanch/status/2052547613816213512?s=46">promised</a> that he would bring up Pastor Jin’s case in his meeting with Xi Jinping.
Another prominent case Trump will ask Xi about is Hong Kong businessman Jimmy Lai. Lai, a British passport holder, was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8d5pl34vv0o">sentenced</a> to 20 years in prison for his pro-democracy activism. A virtual death sentence for the nearly eighty-year-old Lai. Hong Kongers were promised a high degree of autonomy after the city&#8217;s handover to China.
The central government in Beijing has spent the time since the handover gradually erasing freedom in Hong Kong. Instead of taking his British passport and fleeing the city, Lai stayed and fought for Hong Kong, leading to his arrest in 2020. Like with Pastor Jin, Trump said on multiple occasions that he would try to secure Lai’s freedom. Should he succeed, this would not only be a moral victory, but it would also establish the United States’ status as the defender of global liberty.
It may feel like ancient history at this point, but we are just over a year into Trump’s Liberation Day trade war — the next topic sure to be discussed. China was targeted more than any other nation, with tariff rates <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-president-trumps-renewed-trade-war-with-china-2026-05-06/">exceeding</a> 100% at one point. Despite the tariffs, China remains one of the U.S.’s largest trading partners. With the economy straining due to the war in Iran, Trump is feeling pressure to score an economic victory.
Despite this, Trump should not sign a trade deal with China that does not benefit the U.S. For one thing, China has a history of failing to honor international agreements. Aside from the aforementioned Joint Declaration, China <a href="https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2022/china-bought-none-extra-200-billion-us-exports-trumps-trade-deal">failed</a> to fulfill commitments it made under the trade deal signed during the first Trump administration. With that in mind, Trump would be wise to take any promises from Beijing with a grain of salt.
Trump needs to remember on his trip that China isn’t a prospective partner; they are a geopolitical threat. For starters, China continues threatening the source of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/12/01/nx-s1-5620992/tsmc-chipmaker-expands-beyond-taiwan">90% of the world’s advanced computer chips</a>: Taiwan. If China conquers Taiwan, they gain a stranglehold on critical tech and leverage over a global economy dependent on advanced chips.
China’s saber-rattling isn’t limited to Taiwan; they are also threatening neighbors like Japan and the Philippines. China illegitimately asserts sovereignty over territory that is well within the exclusive economic zones of its neighbors. To get around this, China is building islands to claim territory in the South China Sea as its own. Xi wants Trump to abandon America’s allies in Tokyo and Manila. Trump can’t let them.
The danger from China isn’t limited to what goes on outside the U.S.; the threat is already within our borders. Counterintelligence operations focus heavily on Chinese operatives, with dozens of arrests being made against Chinese nationals for spying. Moreover, China is one of the largest purveyors of <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/china-is-attacking-citizens-on-american-soil-84cd6ee0">transnational repression</a> (TNP), whereby China harasses or suppresses dissidents living abroad. To protect the freedom of its citizens, Trump made clear to Xi that this is unacceptable.
These are weighty issues the Trump administration has to address. Any of these issues may be enough for China to balk at any trade negotiations. The president should not let this risk intimidate him. For one thing, they are too important to sacrifice for the sake of a trade deal. Second, the U.S. doesn’t need to sacrifice its values to appease China. Despite China’s growth, the United States remains the world’s largest economy and doesn’t need to sacrifice core interests to appease China.
President Trump has a full plate with the war in Iran causing economic and political pain. His trip to Beijing may be a tempting opportunity to score a win on the foreign policy front. If the president wants his trip to be successful, he needs to keep human rights and national security in mind.
***
<a href="https://www.joinyv.org/talent/matthew-cookson">Matt Cookson</a> is an alumnus of the Young Voices Contributor Program and was a Middle East History and Policy Fellow with Young Voices. He also works in the supply chain for a U.S. Defense Contractor. His commentary has appeared in the Mises Institute, Real Clear Politics, the National Interest, Providence Magazine, China Source, and the Idaho Freedom Foundation. You can follow him on X @<a href="https://x.com/MattCookson95">MattCookson95</a> and Substack @<a href="https://substack.com/@thewaythecookiecrumbles?utm_source=user-menu">thewaythecookiecrumbles</a>.

TOPSHOT-SKOREA-US-CHINA-DIPLOMACY

Trump’s Non-Negotiables For ‘Art Of The Deal’ China Trip

DW Opinion

Foreign Policy

U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2 for a highly anticipated meeting between the leaders of the world&#8217;s two biggest economies, a trip announced as the Supreme Court overturned Trump&#8217;s sweeping tariffs on imported goods.
A White House official confirmed the trip on Friday, just before the highest U.S. court dealt Trump a stinging defeat by striking down many of the tariffs he has used in a global trade war, including some against rival China.
Trump&#8217;s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on an extended visit to Beijing had been expected to revolve around extending a trade truce that kept both countries from further hiking tariffs.
But the Supreme Court&#8217;s reversal created new questions for tense U.S.-China relations that had recently stabilized after Trump trimmed tariffs on Chinese goods, in exchange for measures from Beijing, including cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade and pausing export restrictions on critical minerals.
Twenty-percent tariffs on China&#8217;s U.S.-bound exports were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which the court ruled Trump had overstepped. Those tariffs were tied to national emergencies related to fentanyl distribution and trade imbalances.
Other duties on Chinese goods, including those implemented under legislated trade authorities known as Section 301 and Section 232, remain in place.
It was not immediately clear how many of the tariffs Trump would restore, but he told a press conference that he would impose a new 10% global tariff for 150 days.
Trump&#8217;s last trip to China, in 2017, was the most recent by a U.S. president.
&#8220;That&#8217;s going to be a wild one,&#8221; Trump told foreign leaders visiting Washington on Thursday about the upcoming China visit. &#8220;We have to put on the biggest display you&#8217;ve ever had in the history of China.&#8221;
The Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment on the dates of the trip, which were first reported by Reuters. Beijing has not confirmed the trip.
The Trump administration has said the global tariffs were necessary because of national emergencies related to trade imbalances that have weakened U.S. manufacturing.
Trump had already been &#8220;playing defense&#8221; in the trade war, given the effectiveness of Beijing&#8217;s threat to cut off rare earths, said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The tariff defeat likely &#8220;cements his weakness in their eyes,&#8221; he said.
Chinese officials &#8220;like the direction of travel of the bilateral relationship in which the U.S. is diminished and they want to keep things from re-escalating,&#8221; Kennedy said.
Trump&#8217;s visit will be the leaders&#8217; first in-person talks since an October meeting in South Korea, where they agreed on the trade truce.
While the October meeting largely sidestepped the sensitive issue of Taiwan, Xi raised U.S. arms sales to the island when the two leaders spoke this month.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a position Taipei rejects. The U.S., bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, has formal diplomatic ties with China, but it maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and is the island&#8217;s most important arms supplier.
Washington announced its largest-ever arms sale approval with Taiwan in December, including $11.1 billion in weapons that could ostensibly be used to defend against a Chinese attack. Taiwan expects more such sales.
Xi also said during the February call that he would consider further increasing soybean purchases, according to Trump. Struggling U.S. farmers are a major political constituency for Trump, and China is the top soybean consumer. Analysts said on Friday that China may be less likely to follow through on another big purchase of U.S. soybeans after the Supreme Court ruling.
Although Trump has justified hawkish policy steps from Canada to Greenland and Venezuela as necessary to thwart China, he has eased policy toward Beijing in the past several months in areas from tariffs to advanced computer chips and drones.
The global trade war Trump initiated after he began his second term as president in January 2025 has alienated other trading partners, including allies.
Critics had argued that imposing steep tariffs on countries across the board actually insulated Beijing from the tariff barrage and reduced incentives to move supply chains out of China.
Friday&#8217;s ruling could indirectly increase pressure on Beijing if the effective tariff rates on other countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, fall more than those on China, said Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics.
&#8220;Unlike with many other countries, there is a well-established, much more legally durable mechanism for most of the tariffs on China that make them less affected than those on other countries,&#8221; Chorzempa said.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Michael Martina; Additional reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Andrei Khalip, Colleen Jenkins, Rod Nickel, Patricia Zengerle)

Donald Trump, Xi Jinping

Trump To Travel To China In March, With Tariffs In Focus

Communist China

Global Politics

Tariffs

World

President Donald Trump dismissed concerns about instability in China after purges of its military reached inside President Xi Jinping’s inner circle.
“As far as I’m concerned, there’s one boss in China. That’s President Xi. That’s the president I’m dealing with,” the president <a href="https://x.com/RedWave_Press/status/2017942149577224459">told</a> reporters on board Air Force One on Saturday.
In response to a reporter, Trump said he is not concerned about Beijing’s “stability” after the government announced a corruption investigation into its top ranking military official and a close Xi ally.
“I think President Xi is the boss. I watch it very closely, and he’s highly respected in China. He’s the boss,” said Trump.
China’s Ministry of National Defense <a href="https://www.news.cn/legal/20260124/33406074879940878fd3102178790920/c.html">announced</a> on January 24 that General Zhang Youxia, the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission that controls China’s military, is suspected of “grave violations of discipline and the law.” General Liu Zhenli, the head of the military’s Joint Staff Department, is also under investigation, according to the announcement.
Investigations under China’s authoritarian government almost always result in guilty verdicts. Officials that fall under investigation are often never heard from again. Zhang and Liu have both disappeared from the public recently, though their absences alone had not been enough to rouse suspicion that they had become targets in the ongoing shakeup of China’s military, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/world/asia/china-top-general-xi-military-purge.html">The New York Times</a>.
The allegations against Zhang are especially noteworthy because of the vaunted position and deep level of trust Zhang was previously assumed to enjoy in Xi’s inner circle. Zhang and Xi are childhood friends. Each of their fathers were revolutionaries in Mao Zedong’s army. Zhang was second only to Xi in the hierarchy of the Chinese state.
The investigations into Zhang and Liu are just the latest in an ongoing purge of top military officials since 2023. Beijing has characterized the purge as an effort to root out corruption in the military. The campaign has taken down officers and personnel up and down the military hierarchy, as well as civilian executives of military arms manufacturers. Many of those targeted had been handpicked into their positions by Xi.
Zhang and Liu’s forced absences mean that of the six generals Xi appointed to the Central Military Commission in 2022, only one is left: General Zhang Shengmin.
“Xi may have purged them because he saw them as undermining his leadership and military objectives,” says an <a href="https://understandingwar.org/research/china-taiwan/xi-jinpings-military-purges-leave-him-increasingly-powerful-but-isolated/">analysis</a> from the Institute for the Study of War. “The CMC purges consolidate Xi’s control over the military but risk isolating him or surrounding him with sycophants, which in turn risks military miscalculations.”
The military purges have taken place as concerns grow that Beijing may attempt a military takeover of Taiwan, a nation to which Beijing has already made territorial claims.

Trump Dismisses Concerns About China’s ‘Stability’ After Purge Of Top Military Official

Taiwan

Longtime Daily Wire readers are no doubt familiar with Xi Van Fleet — an activist, scholar, and survivor of Mao&#8217;s Cultural Revolution. Xi has done more than most to shed light on the horrors of Chinese communism and to sound the alarm about the rising threat of socialism in the United States. We were proud to publish her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-lived-in-the-communist-world-zohran-mamdani-dreams-of-its-worse-than-you-could-imagine">scathing portrait</a> of Zohran Mamdani and her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/erasing-history-the-real-cultural-marxism?author=Xi+Van+Fleet+and+Sasha+Gong&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Erasing+History%3A+The+Real+Cultural+Marxism">five-part series</a> “American Maoists: Warnings From The Cultural Revolution.”
Today, we&#8217;re honored to bring you an exclusive excerpt from her forthcoming book “Made in America: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Enabled Communist China and Created Our Greatest Threat.” Co-authored with Chinese dissident Yu Jie, the book explores how American academics, writers, and politicians helped Communist China become a global superpower.
In the excerpt below, Xi and Yu examine three little-known American journalists who helped sell Mao&#8217;s lies to the world — and warn that Xi Jinping is working to do the same with American journalists today. — Tim Rice
***
Edgar Snow, Agnes Smedley, and Anna Louise Strong — three Americans from the Midwest — were collectively known in China as the “Three S’s,” the leading Western journalists who made an immeasurable contribution to the Chinese communist cause, with Snow regarded as the most influential of the trio.
In 1984, the Smedley-Strong-Snow Society of China was established under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to honor their contributions. The society organizes commemorative events, preserves archives, and promotes research on their roles in advancing the Chinese Communist movement. And all three of the S’s were individually featured on postage stamps issued in China.
Because Smedley and Strong were openly Communist and connected to the Communist International, their work was often dismissed in the West due to its overt ideological slant. Snow, by contrast, was seen as an independent voice. This perceived neutrality gave his work greater credibility in the West, making it arguably more deceptive and dangerous.
Today, the CCP is actively seeking new “Snows” for Xi Jinping’s “new era,” those who can fulfill a similar role as Edgar Snow in promoting China’s narrative on the global stage. In 2021, the CCP media outlet China Daily launched the Edgar Snow Newsroom, aimed at recruiting foreign reporters to engage in propaganda work for the CCP. Evidently, there is no shortage of candidates for the CCP to choose from.
The widespread popularity of the work of the Three S’s can be attributed to the historical context of the 1930s. During this time, the United States was still recovering from the Great Depression, which had deeply shaken confidence in capitalism. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal introduced socialist policies, reflecting a broader leftward shift in American society.
Interestingly, Edgar Snow noted in Red Star Over China that Mao Zedong held a favorable view of President Roosevelt, even expressing interest in learning about FDR’s New Deal. Mao was likely inspired by FDR’s large-scale government initiatives aimed at rapid economic transformation.
In this historic environment, writings that glorified and promoted Chinese Communism unsurprisingly found a receptive audience among American readers, who were increasingly exploring alternative economic and political ideologies.
Later, Edgar Snow’s 1936 visit to China and extensive interviews conducted with Mao Zedong  marked the beginning of the CCP’s campaign to cultivate allies among American influencers, particularly journalists and writers. From there, the party steadily expanded its network of “old friends” to encompass government officials, military leaders, politicians, policymakers, and, eventually, the upper ranks of major corporations and business elites.
One might argue that these influencers were merely deceived by the Chinese Communists. But the truth is far less forgiving: they were deceived because they wanted to be. They saw not what was real but what they longed to see. They heard not the truth but what confirmed their ideals and fed their convictions.
Though they came from diverse backgrounds, they shared one defining trait: a left-leaning political orientation, ranging from liberal sympathizers like Edgar Snow to committed communists like Agnes Smedley and Anna Louise Strong. History has shown, time and again, that the ideological leap from liberalism to communism is often alarmingly short.
These bleeding-heart liberals helped legitimize and elevate a regime that would go on to unleash unimaginable human suffering. Safely removed from the consequences, they never lived under the tyranny they helped glorify. Many never paused to reflect on the reality that every word they wrote in praise of the Communist Party came at the cost of real human lives — millions of them.
Words can kill, and the pen can be as deadly as any bullet. This tragic chapter of history must not be forgotten.
***
Xi Van Fleet and Yu Jie are authors of the forthcoming <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/xi-van-fleet/made-in-america/9781546009368/?lens=center-street__;!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!1EyvEl-uC7TIK0rLvarrOO6odKbstFnL9S29IBgVjHSqp0YOI8tvg6cjDHu8PbAkTnVdBtVmyN0Y7CGdUt-84os$" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/xi-van-fleet/made-in-america/9781546009368/?lens%3Dcenter-street__;!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!1EyvEl-uC7TIK0rLvarrOO6odKbstFnL9S29IBgVjHSqp0YOI8tvg6cjDHu8PbAkTnVdBtVmyN0Y7CGdUt-84os$&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1769179679063000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3JTdRuew3QefD102CqMml8">book</a> “Made in America: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Enabled Communist China and Created Our Greatest Threat.”
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Untitled design (100)

The Three American Journalists Who Fueled The CCP’s Rise 

Chinese Communist Party

Journalism

Leftism

Trump brings home some major W’s from his Asia trip, the administration looks to crack down on commercial driver&#8217;s licenses for illegal immigrants, and South America trends toward the Right. 
It’s Friday, October 31, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-2501031-member-exclusive?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+Show+Episodes+Carousel">video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump And Xi Reach Agreements</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-994029 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Beijing-Breakthrough-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Beijing-Breakthrough-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Beijing-Breakthrough-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Beijing-Breakthrough-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Beijing-Breakthrough-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Beijing-Breakthrough.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Topline: Following his showdown with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Trump has returned from his Asia tour with new deals in hand and perhaps most importantly, reduced tensions with China. 
After the meeting, Xi described the feeling as “warm” and Trump touted what he called an “amazing meeting.” Here he is grading the talk aboard Air Force One. 
“Overall, I guess on the scale of 0-10, with ten being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2hY2qJYtj0">said</a> Trump.
Trump said official terms of a deal are “very close to resolved,” but it appears the big ticket items on his wishlist were met. In a Truth Social post early Thursday, the President said Xi had agreed to “work diligently with us to stop the flow of Fentanyl into our Country.” As a result of those assurances, Trump announced plans to lower the existing tariff that was imposed on China in response to fentanyl trafficking. 
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.
In addition, Trump said Xi agreed to “purchase American energy,” potentially oil and gas from Alaska. Trump is looking to keep Beijing from buying Russian oil, so that would be a win-win.
On the agricultural front, Trump says China has also agreed to begin purchasing massive amounts of soybeans, sorghum, and other farm products. With that news, he encouraged farmers to “immediately go out and buy more land and larger tractors.” And finally, he said the Chinese would resume the sale of rare earth minerals used for tech products and large magnets.
Trump says the overall tariff rate on Chinese exports will fall from 57% to 47%, leaving significant trade barriers in place, but far lower than the 100% plus rate that was looming without a deal. The two countries also agreed to remove port fees that had been impacting cargo ships from each side. Looking ahead, Trump said the two leaders will continue to meet on a more regular basis — he’ll travel to Beijing in April, and Xi will come to the US shortly after, potentially to Mar-a-Lago.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">How Illegals Keep Scoring CDLs</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-994027 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/The-CDL-Loophole-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/The-CDL-Loophole-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/The-CDL-Loophole-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/The-CDL-Loophole-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/The-CDL-Loophole-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/The-CDL-Loophole.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Topline: The Trump administration has pledged to crack down on illegal immigrant drivers, but Americans have been left wondering: why do these crashes keep happening?
An accident in Florida brought this issue into the national spotlight. An accident was allegedly caused by an illegal immigrant identified as Harjinder Singh, an Indian national. Singh allegedly made an illegal u-turn, blocking a highway, and causing a van to careen into Singh’s trailer. Three people were killed in the crash.
Several similar cases have happened since then, often involving illegal immigrants carrying California-issued commercial driver&#8217;s licenses (CDLs).
Some of the major contributors to this issue of illegal immigrants obtaining CDLs have been the flood of illegal immigration into the United States under former President Joe Biden, and then the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-illegal-immigrant-truck-drivers-ended-up-on-americas-roads">failure</a> of the federal government to ensure that CDL applicants received proper testing before they were handed driver&#8217;s licenses.
In Singh’s case, the Indian national failed an English language proficiency test in the aftermath of the fatal collision, “providing correct responses to just 2 of 12 verbal questions and only accurately identifying 1 of 4 highway traffic signs,” according to the Department of Transportation.
A Republican-backed bill in Congress <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-bill-takes-aim-at-democrat-states-giving-truck-licenses-to-illegal-aliens">aims</a> to crack down on these holes in the system. Under the legislation, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy would have the authority to revoke a state’s ability to grant “non-domiciled CDLs,” or commercial licenses for applicants who live out of state, if the state were found in violation of federal rules around CDLs.
The bill would also standardize some rules about the CDL process by requiring all testing to be conducted in English and that all CDL applicants hold a driver’s license for at least one year.
The Trump administration is taking steps to ensure that all testing is done in English. Duffy is also conducting a nationwide audit of state CDL permitting programs. The worst offender is California, where more than 25% of non-domiciled CDLs reviewed by the feds were improperly issued, <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-takes-emergency-action-protect-americas">according</a> to the Department of Transportation.
The Trump administration is also restricting who can get a CDL. Foreigners must have specialized work visas. They can&#8217;t be border crossers who are awaiting the fate of their asylum cases.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">South America Moves Right</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-994025 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/South-American-Shifts-Right-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/South-American-Shifts-Right-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/South-American-Shifts-Right-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/South-American-Shifts-Right-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/South-American-Shifts-Right-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/South-American-Shifts-Right.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Topline: Massive political shifts are taking place in South America – including rightward shifts in multiple countries, such as Bolivia and Argentina – and the Trump administration is playing a key role on several fronts. Morning Wire spoke to Andres Martinez-Fernandez, senior policy analyst for Latin America at The Heritage Foundation, for more on South American governments. (The following interview has been lightly edited.)
Morning Wire: We’ve seen rapidly changing dynamics between the administration and various political leaders in South America. Let’s start with Argentina. We just saw Javier Milei’s party win a landslide victory. How significant is this victory in the country?
Martinez-Fernandez: It&#8217;s really significant because President Milei is representing a major departure from what has been for the past couple decades. Argentine leadership is typically Left, far-Left leaning and socialist in its nature for economic policies. That has brought about generally an anti-American bent. But President Milei has brought an agenda which is really the opposite of all those – very pro-market, individual responsibility, cutting government. As far as relations with the United States, we&#8217;ve likely never had a more aligned leader in Argentina. This victory really solidified what was, with his victory a couple years back for the presidency, a massive shift. But it really solidifies that with this legislative win, which is going to help him with his agenda.
Morning Wire: The U.S. recently helped Argentina with a $40 billion support package – how much of a role did that play in this election?
Martinez-Fernandez: I think a very significant role, and President Trump deserves a lot of credit for the victory that we saw for Milei’s party. What we saw was, just in the days prior to the election, the White House meeting with President Milei and President Trump and the announcement of this package, which is directly aimed at stabilizing the financial crisis, which was generated by the socialist policies which dominated in Argentina for so long. This is a vital economic stability move, but in addition to that, it&#8217;s a major sign of confidence from the United States and from the world, which I think translated into more confidence from Argentines in the president of Argentina&#8217;s ability to stabilize the economy and try a new path forward.
Morning Wire: Turning to Bolivia. We recently saw a monumental election there  – the first conservative president in 20 years. What is the significance of the election there and does it fit into a larger trend in South America?
Martinez-Fernandez: Yeah, absolutely. It does seem to be certainly part of a broader trend that we&#8217;ve seen. In a lot of ways, President Milei was the start of this as far as the current wave of right-of-center leaders coming to power, Bolivia being the most recent. But before that, we saw elections in Ecuador, which solidified a more conservative leader, and also elsewhere in the region. We have upcoming elections in countries like Chile, Brazil, and Peru, where a conservative candidate is well-poised also for victory there. I do think part of that is centering from the impetus that we see from the successes of Argentina, but more broadly, the Trump administration&#8217;s very positive engagement with these partners. The shift in Bolivia specifically is historic. This is a country which has just been completely controlled politically by the socialist movement there, which has dominated institutions and weaponized those to maintain power. The people just overwhelmingly, despite all of that, rejected that movement and now have a more conservative leader who has promised to do a series of shifts – not only as far as domestically aligning with more pro-market economic and stable policies, but also as far as shifting toward the United States and Western alliances.

MRN_251030_V1

Morning Brief: Trump Moves Needle With Xi, Illegals Endanger U.S. Roads, & South America Shifts Right

Morning Brief: Trump-Xi Make A Deal, CDL Loophole For Illegals, And South America Moves Right

Argentina

California

Department of Transportation

Javier Milei

Morning Wire

Sean Duffy

South America

President Donald Trump said he discussed numerous issues with Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, including a potential trade deal and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump and Xi spoke for about an hour and 40 minutes in South Korea, the last leg of Trump&#8217;s weeklong trip to Asia. During the summit, Trump was joined by multiple top White House officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
“Overall, I guess on the scale of from zero to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” Trump said.
The president said that he and Xi have &#8220;come to conclusions on very many important points,&#8221; adding that a trade deal could be signed &#8220;pretty soon.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on his meeting with President Xi: &#8220;I thought it was an amazing meeting&#8230; a lot of decisions were made, too — there wasn&#8217;t too much left out there, and we&#8217;ve come to conclusion on many very important points.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/cr81Yojr24">pic.twitter.com/cr81Yojr24</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1983911291866538068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Here are the key points that Trump and Xi discussed:
<h3>Rare Earth Minerals</h3>
Trump secured an important win for the United States and the rest of the world on rare earth minerals, with Xi agreeing to pause export controls for one year. Trump said China&#8217;s pause could be “very routinely extended as time goes by.”
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&#8220;Now, every year we’ll renegotiate the deal, but I think the deal will go on for a long time, long beyond the year,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But all of the rare earth has been settled, and that’s for the world.”
&#8220;That roadblock is gone now,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;There&#8217;s no roadblock at all on rare earth. That will hopefully disappear from our vocabulary for a little while.&#8221;
<h3>Tariffs and Fentanyl</h3>
Trump said that tariffs on China will be slashed from 57% to 47% after Xi promised that his country would take more action to prevent fentanyl from being trafficked into the United States.
&#8220;On fentanyl, we agreed that he was going to work very hard to stop the flow,&#8221; Trump told reporters as he flew back to the United States on Air Force One. &#8220;It&#8217;s a very complex subject because it&#8217;s used for lots of different reasons, including anesthetics and things, but he&#8217;s going to work very hard on it.&#8221;
Trump added that he is hopeful that China will take &#8220;some real action.&#8221; After Xi promised to address the issue, Trump said that his 20% tariff on China that was imposed in response to fentanyl trafficking will be reduced to 10%, dropping the overall tariff rate on the communist country to 47%, &#8220;effective immediately.&#8221;
<h3>Trump Trip to China</h3>
President Trump said he will travel to China in April for continuing talks, while Xi will visit the United States &#8220;some time after that.&#8221; Trump said he expects a trade deal with China to happen &#8220;pretty soon.&#8221;
&#8220;The whole relationship is very important, and I think [the meeting] was very good,&#8221; Trump added.
<h3>Oil and Gas</h3>
While no deal was reached on China purchasing oil and gas from Alaska during the summit, Trump said he&#8217;s optimistic that an agreement will be signed in the future. The president added that Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will meet with Chinese officials to continue oil and gas negotiations.
<h3>Computer Chips</h3>
Xi promised to discuss the potential purchase of computer chips from U.S. tech companies, such as Nvidia, according to Trump.
&#8220;I said that&#8217;s really between you and Nvidia, but we&#8217;re sort of the arbitrator or the referee,&#8221; Trump said, adding that it would be &#8220;good for us&#8221; if China bought more chips from the United States.
<h3>Ukraine-Russia War</h3>
The ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia &#8220;came up&#8221; during Trump&#8217;s meeting with Xi, and the two leaders &#8220;talked about it for a long time,&#8221; according to Trump. Xi has been friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and China has been accused of sending military equipment to Russia during the war.
&#8220;We&#8217;re both going to work together to see if we can get something done,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;We agree that the sides are locked in fighting, and sometimes you have to let them fight, I guess. But he&#8217;s going to help us, and we&#8217;re going to work together on Ukraine.&#8221;
China also buys large amounts of oil from Russia, but Trump said that topic didn&#8217;t come up during the meeting.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
&#8220;Ukraine came up very strongly. We talked about it for a long time, and we&#8217;re both going to work together to see if we can get something done,&#8221; says <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on his meeting with President Xi.
&#8220;We&#8217;re going to work together on Ukraine.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/ygzOKy9Gvn">pic.twitter.com/ygzOKy9Gvn</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1983915198147612876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h3>Taiwan &#8216;Not Discussed&#8217;</h3>
Trump also said that Taiwan &#8220;never came up&#8221; during the meeting. Xi has long had his sights set on Taiwan, a vital island nation that currently manufactures around 90% of the world&#8217;s most advanced semiconductors.
&#8220;It was not discussed, actually,&#8221; he said.
<h3>Farm Products</h3>
Xi promised that China would purchase American soybeans, sorghum, and other farm products. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added during an interview with Fox Business that China would buy 12 million metric tons of American soybeans before the end of the year and 25 million metric tons over the next three years.
Listen to Trump&#8217;s remarks below:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="President Trump Gaggles with Press on Air Force One, Oct. 30, 2025" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KjqKGq3-C9Q?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Donald Trump/Xi Jinping

Trump Calls Xi Summit A ’12’ Out Of 10 – Here’s What Went Down

Economy

Politics

rare earth minerals

trade

U.S.

President Donald Trump ends his Asia tour with a much-anticipated sit-down with China’s Xi Jinping, a scathing report on Joe Biden’s presidency casts doubt on key executive actions, and Canada&#8217;s government is pressured to include minors in its euthanasia program.
It’s Thursday, October 30, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251030-member-exclusive">the video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trumps-asia-trip-apex-bidens-autopen-presidency-10-30-25/id1576594336?i=1000734183688" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump V. Xi In South Korea</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-993375" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/South-Korea-Summit-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/South-Korea-Summit-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/South-Korea-Summit-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/South-Korea-Summit-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/South-Korea-Summit-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/South-Korea-Summit.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The eyes of the world turned to South Korea, as President Trump sat down with China’s Xi Jinping for a high-stakes meeting.
Trump v. Xi: President Donald Trump cut tariffs on China overnight after President Xi Jinping promised to purchase large amounts of farm products from the United States and crack down on fentanyl trafficking. 
Trump said the tariff rate on China would be reduced from 57% to 47% after a high-stakes meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea. In return, he said China promised to purchase American soybeans, sorghum, and other farm products and stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
“I had a truly great meeting with President Xi of China. There is enormous respect between our two Countries, and that will only be enhanced with what just took place,” Trump posted on Truth Social after the meeting. “We agreed on many things, with others, even of high importance, being very close to resolved.”
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Trump added that China had agreed to “continue the flow” of rare earth minerals used in products ranging from cell phones to fighter jets. China had been looking to implement strict export controls on the minerals.
The meeting began late Wednesday night by United States time. 
Just minutes before the meeting began, President Trump issued a stunning social media <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115460423936412555">post</a>, saying, “Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.”
The U.S. has not tested any nuclear weapons for the last 33 years. The timing of that message is no accident. In the last week alone, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia had successfully tested nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable cruise missiles, along with a nuclear-capable torpedo. 
North Korea also claims to have conducted missile tests of its own. But this appears to be directed at Xi, who has overseen a historic nuclear buildup in China, growing its arsenal at an alarming pace. Despite that apparent warning, once Trump and Xi met just a few moments later, the two were all smiles, with Trump cracking a joke as they shook hands.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Biden Autopen Questions Grow</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-993373" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Signed-Without-Consent-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Signed-Without-Consent-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Signed-Without-Consent-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Signed-Without-Consent-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Signed-Without-Consent-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Signed-Without-Consent.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The House Oversight Committee has recommended that the Justice Department investigate the Biden White House’s use of an autopen to sign official presidential actions. In a 100-page <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/oversight-committee-releases-report-on-the-biden-autopen-presidency/">report</a> released this week, Republicans charged Biden staffers with covering up for an increasingly senile president and taking action without his knowledge.
Republicans want the DOJ to take a deep look at former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen because many of the actions Biden took – or appeared to take – may not have been valid. Committee Chairman James Comer asked Attorney General Pam Bondi for a “comprehensive review of all executive actions taken during the Biden presidency.”
Comer also asked for special attention to be paid to White House doctor Kevin O’Connor, deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, and senior adviser to the first lady Anthony Bernal. They all pleaded the Fifth during the House investigation.
Comer v. O’Connor: Comer sent a letter to the D.C. Board of Medicine asking for a review of O&#8217;Connor’s work as the chief White House doctor. The report says testimony indicates that O’Connor “may have succumbed to political pressure” and hid Biden’s health decline from the American people.
Comer said the medical board should consider whether O’Connor “issu[ed] misleading medical reports, misrepresent[ed] treatments, or [failed] to conform to standards of practice” in violation of D.C. law. If any violations are found, the D.C. Board of Medicine could discipline O’Connor or even <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/10/28/us-news/biden-white-house-doctor-kevin-oconnor-referred-for-investigation-of-ex-prez-health-cover-up-could-lose-license/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_source=twitter">revoke</a> his medical license.
&nbsp;
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Canada&#8217;s Growing Euthanasia Movement</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-993371" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Euthanasia-For-Minors-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Euthanasia-For-Minors-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Euthanasia-For-Minors-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Euthanasia-For-Minors-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Euthanasia-For-Minors-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Euthanasia-For-Minors.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: Canada’s euthanasia program is rapidly expanding, with some groups calling for minors as young as 12 years old to be included in the government-funded program. 
MAiD, or Medical Assistance in Dying, is effectively an euthanasia program funded by the Canadian government. It began in 2016 for people whose natural death was “reasonably foreseeable” and who wanted to end their lives. The program has only expanded since, particularly in 2021, when chronic illness and disability became included as reasons for someone to be euthanized. 
Since its inception, more people have undergone these procedures. Thousands of Canadians now do this annually.
Efforts to expand MAiD: Advocates want children 12 years and older to have access to MAiD. Current rules state that one must be 18 years old to be considered for this procedure.
The general argument is that children need more autonomy in health care, and the MAiD program is supposedly about “compassion.” Advocates also noted that minors can already consent or refuse certain treatments, so permitting this would be consistent. Finally, advocates will point to the Netherlands, where assisted dying for “mature minors” has been legal since 2002.
As for consent, one advocacy group called “Dying With Dignity Canada” recommends that minors between 12 and 15 years old have parental permission to be euthanized. It does not recommend that as a requirement for minors aged 16 and 17, however.
Morning Wire spoke to Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, a psychiatrist, author, and a director at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, about the euthanasia movement.
“Once you cross the line of allowing doctors to kill patients, once you cross the line of accepting the basic premise of the euthanasia movement, which is that some lives are not worth living and therefore these people should be killed by the medical profession, then it&#8217;s very hard to argue that there should be any limitations to that,” said Kheriaty.
In addition to advocating for minors to be permitted in the program, there is a strong push to include people who suffer solely from mental health issues. That section is set to take effect in 2027. 
Euthanasia is not legal in the U.S.; however, several states do permit assisted suicide. This is a domestic movement that is worth watching closely and has undoubtedly been influenced by our neighbors up north.

MRN_251030_V3

Morning Brief: Trump Meets With Xi, Biden Autopen Probe, & A Growing Euthanasia Obsession

Morning Brief: South Korea Summit, Autopen Investigation, And Canada's Euthanasia Obsession

Canada

Euthanasia

James Comer

Joe Biden

Media

Pam Bondi

South Korea

President Donald Trump cut tariffs on China overnight after President Xi Jinping promised to purchase large amounts of farm products from the United States and crack down on fentanyl trafficking. 
Trump said the tariff rate on China would be reduced from 57% to 47% after a high-stakes meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea. In return, he said China promised to purchase American soybeans, sorghum, and other farm products and stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
“I had a truly great meeting with President Xi of China. There is enormous respect between our two Countries, and that will only be enhanced with what just took place,” Trump posted on Truth Social after the meeting. “We agreed on many things, with others, even of high importance, being very close to resolved.”
Trump added that China had agreed to “continue the flow” of rare earth minerals used in products ranging from cell phones to fighter jets. China had been looking to implement strict export controls on the minerals.
“Very significantly, China has strongly stated that they will work diligently with us to stop the flow of Fentanyl into our Country. They will help us end the Fentanyl Crisis,” Trump added on Truth Social. “China also agreed that they will begin the process of purchasing American Energy. In fact, a very large scale transaction may take place concerning the purchase of Oil and Gas from the Great State of Alaska.”
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He said that Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum would look into whether an energy deal was possible. 
Trump’s meeting with Xi, which lasted for about an hour and 40 minutes, included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Susie Wiles, his chief of staff. 
“Overall, I guess on the scale of from zero to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” Trump told reporters about the meeting, adding that he expected a trade deal to be signed “pretty soon.&#8221;
Bessent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/oct/30/donald-trump-xi-jinping-meeting-live-updates">told</a> Fox Business on Thursday morning that he expects finalization &#8220;as soon as next week.&#8221; He also said that China would purchase 25 million metric tons of soybeans over the next three years and 12 million metric tons before the end of the year.
Trump is also expected to travel back to China in April to meet with Xi.

U.S. Donald Trump Meets With China’s President Xi In South Korea

Trump Cuts Tariffs, China Opens Wallet For U.S. Agriculture

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to agree on lower U.S. tariff rates for action on fentanyl when the two meet on Thursday, but more could be addressed.
When the two leaders meet in South Korea at 11 a.m. Thursday morning local time, Xi is expected to promise more export controls of precursor chemicals used in fentanyl production. In return, Trump will agree to cut down a 20% fentanyl-related tariff on Chinese goods by as much as half, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/china/trump-xi-to-discuss-lowering-china-tariffs-for-fentanyl-crackdown-8094fe83?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqdZGfINai9uxsEPHGTRYpoJv9WxRyHOBhXp8ve5eSzOW0TUt9VVEDHZk_PUqJI%3D&amp;gaa_ts=69027259&amp;gaa_sig=OAkZEKsPpoXahukKgqXwAHNdGp2LE0J_ncwTmpZ38P1-QHWUrdaxvNNbri2VUW9x4USH6dDS0AkgT0N_ggztxg%3D%3D">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
During a panel discussion at the White House last week, Trump <a href="https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1981453246746017940">said</a> that in his meeting with Xi, the U.S. president would put fentanyl “right at the front of the list.” But Washington and Beijing have many points of friction that have been exacerbated by a trade war that began in Trump’s first term, and has ramped up since Trump took office again.
Trump was <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-reveals-xi-jinping-meeting-timeline-while-discussing-kim-jong-un-relations-south-korea">caught</a> on a hot mic Wednesday at a state dinner in South Korea saying that he expected the meeting with Xi to run “three to four hours.”
“We’re going to have something that&#8217;s going to be very, very satisfactory to China and to us. I think we&#8217;re gonna have a — I think it&#8217;s going to be a very good meeting. I look forward to it tomorrow morning when we meet,” said Trump.
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The hours-long meeting could leave time for many issues beyond fentanyl. Here’s a few that could make talks:
Soybeans
China has placed an effective embargo on purchases of American soybeans, squeezing farmers and putting political pressure on the Trump administration to deescalate tensions over trade. China is usually the top customer for American soybean farmers, but since Beijing placed high tariffs on U.S. soybeans in May, trade has disappeared.
Instead, Chinese buyers have sourced soybeans from Argentina and Brazil, raising concerns among American farmers and agriculture interests that the U.S. has been nudged out of a major market because of the trade war.
Ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting, a Chinese state-owned company purchased about 180,000 metric tons of soybeans from the U.S., about three shiploads. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins <a href="https://x.com/SecRollins/status/1983511209333690631">celebrated</a> the purchase as a “great start” to a better system of trade and a triumph of Trump’s negotiations with Xi.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa appeared more skeptical.
“China thinks it can move the needle at the last minute, but these small purchases are not nearly enough to address the serious threats facing the ag economy,” said Grassley in a statement, according to the <a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2025/10/29/reports-china-buys-several-shiploads-of-u-s-soybeans-ahead-of-trump-trade-meeting/">Iowa Capital Dispatch</a>. “While this may be a positive sign, it’s critical that the Chinese market more fully reopens to American soybean growers soon.”
Rare Earth Minerals
China <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/business/china-rare-earth-export-controls.html">supplies</a> an estimated 90% of the world’s rare earth minerals that are used in products that range from cell phones to fighter jets. With so many high-value products dependent on a steady supply of rare earths, the White House has been limited in its ability to leverage China on trade.
During his Asia tour this week, Trump has prioritized covering the United States’ rare earth weakness through trade pacts with other countries. On Sunday, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-signs-slew-of-trade-critical-minerals-deals-on-southeast-asia-tour">signed</a> trade deals with Malaysia and Thailand that in part aim to diversify U.S. supply chains for the critical minerals. On Tuesday, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-trump-trade-wins-u-s-and-japan-strike-rare-earth-pact-announce-strategic-investment-deal">signed</a> another deal with Japan in which the allies agreed to stockpile rare earth minerals in an effort to shore up supply chains in the case of global disruption.
Even with the trade deals, China still reserves major advantages in the supply of rare earths. China is the sole global producer of samarium, a mineral used in the production of many military technologies. Also, China is the only country that has managed to refine ultrapure dysprosium, used in the production of high-end chips.
Negotiators from Washington and Beijing have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-and-china-sketch-out-rare-earths-tariff-pause-for-trump-and-xi-to-consider">reportedly</a> come to an initial agreement on a rare earth minerals deal ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting. Under the proposed structure, the United States would pause a rise in steel tariffs and China would lift some export controls.
Detained Americans
On October 22, a group of GOP lawmakers <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/5579605-republicans-urge-trump-xi-prisoners/">sent</a> a letter to Trump calling on him to negotiate a release of Americans held in China. Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Reps. John Moolenaar of Michigan and Chris Smith of New Jersey pushed Trump to secure the release of seven detained Americans, including Ezra Jin, who was arrested earlier this month for his role leading an underground church.
Other cases argued for by the lawmakers include two Americans who they say are victims of trafficking, a lawful U.S. resident who was arrested for making artwork critical of the Chinese regime, the families of reporters for the U.S. state broadcaster Radio Free Asia, and the sister of a Uyghur human rights activist.
This includes two Americans accused of drug-smuggling who lawmakers say are victims of trafficking; a lawful permanent U.S. resident arrested for creating artwork critical of the Chinese government; the families of journalists who worked for the U.S.-government outlet, Radio Free Asia; and the sister of a Uyghur human rights activist based in the U.S.
2020 “Phase One” Trade Deal
In January 2020, the U.S. and China struck a “Phase One” <a href="https://www.uscc.gov/research/us-china-phase-one-deal-backgrounder">deal</a> in which China agreed to purchase an extra $200 billion-worth of U.S. agricultural, energy, and other goods over the next two years, as well as increase protections for intellectual property. China <a href="https://www.piie.com/research/piie-charts/us-china-phase-one-tracker-chinas-purchases-us-goods">failed</a> to meet its obligations over the course of 2020 and 2021, falling short in its purchases of U.S. goods by over 40%.
Beijing blamed the failure on the COVID-19 pandemic while the Trump administration has been quick to criticize its predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for insufficiently policing the agreement.

Here’s What To Know Ahead Of Trump’s High-Stakes Meeting With Xi

United States

President Donald Trump met with Japanese Emperor Naruhito on Monday to kick off the Japan leg of the president’s Asian tour.
Trump is expected to meet with Japan’s chief political leader, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, on Tuesday. Later in the week, the president is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in what both sides have signaled could be a detente in the ongoing trade war.
The emperor, the ceremonial head of Japan, greeted Trump on Monday. The president met with the emperor for about 30 minutes at the imperial palace.
Ahead of their meeting on Tuesday, Trump spoke to Takaichi over the phone from Air Force One.
&#8220;I hear great things about her. I think she&#8217;s going to be great. She was a great friend of Mr. Abe, who was a great man, Prime Minister Abe, and a great friend of mine. He was just a fantastic person,” Trump <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1982237080488218946">told</a> reporters on Air Force One about his upcoming meeting with the prime minister.
“He liked her a lot, she liked him a lot, so that’s a good sign. I look forward to meeting her,” said Trump.
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The meeting’s timing, ahead of Trump’s meeting with Xi, could be opportune for Takaichi, giving the new prime minister time to build rapport with Trump amid long-running tensions between Japan and China. The two leaders are expected to bond over their mutual respect for Abe, who was assassinated in 2022, providing a potential basis to ease trade tensions between Washington and Tokyo, as well.
Trump’s meeting with Xi, scheduled for Thursday, may result in a truce in the trade war that has erupted between Beijing and Washington since Trump took office in January. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that American and Chinese negotiators had reached a “substantial framework” on trade.
“The president had given me maximum leverage when he threatened 100% tariffs if the Chinese imposed their rare earth global export controls. So, I think we have averted that, so that the tariffs will be averted,” <a href="https://x.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1982441311094374609">said</a> Bessent during an interview on ABC.
“We also agreed on substantial agriculture purchases for U.S. farmers,” he added. “We agreed that the Chinese would begin to help us with the precursor chemicals for this terrible fentanyl epidemic that’s ravaging our country. So, I would say that it was a very good meeting overall.”

Donald Trump, Emperor Naruhito

Trump Receives Royal Treatment In Japan Ahead Of High-Stakes Xi Meeting

Japan

President Trump brokers several monumental deals in Asia, the U.S. ramps up its military presence in the Caribbean, and we get an expert opinion on the state of the Trump economy.
It’s Monday, October 27, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251027-member-exclusive">the video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Strikes Trade Deals In Asia</h2>
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Topline: President Trump landed in Asia on Sunday to kick off a whirlwind diplomatic tour aimed at securing new trade deals and peace treaties.
Trump arrived in Malaysia, the first stop on his tour of South Asia, which will also include visits to Japan and South Korea.
The main goal of the trip is to lock down more trade deals and open up access to Asian markets. Within hours of his arrival in Malaysia, the president announced new trade agreements with Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia. Each country will eliminate the vast majority of existing tariffs on U.S. imports, and the latter two will allow for unprecedented American investments in rare earth mineral production.
While this trip was focused on trade, the president also signed a ceasefire deal between Cambodia and Thailand, two longtime foes who were on the brink of war this summer after fighting broke out over a border dispute. Under this new agreement, the two sides will pull back military forces from the border and exchange POWs.
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“I love doing it. I shouldn’t say it’s a hobby, because it’s so much more serious than a hobby — but it’s something that I’m good at and it’s something I love to do,” <a href="https://x.com/clashreport/status/1982325118300004784">said</a> Trump.
Meeting Xi: This trip will be defined by Trump’s sit-down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The two will meet face-to-face on Thursday for the first time since 2019. Ahead of that high-stakes showdown, Trump expressed optimism regarding a “comprehensive deal” that could end the tit-for-tat trade war that’s lasted all year and resulted in unprecedented tariff rates exceeding 100%.
Ahead of that sit-down, officials from both sides have been meeting virtually non-stop this week to hammer out the framework for a potential deal. Beijing says a “basic consensus” has been reached and that the two sides “engaged in candid, in-depth, and constructive exchanges.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump’s Moves Against Drug Trade In South America</h2>
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Topline: President Trump ordered the most advanced U.S. aircraft carrier group to the Caribbean last week as he floated the possibility of strikes against drug cartels on land. And the Trump administration placed sanctions on the president of Colombia as tensions continue to rise with the erstwhile U.S. ally.
Venezuela: President Trump moved the USS Gerald R Ford carrier group to join the forces already stationed in the Caribbean. The Ford carrier group is the largest in the U.S. military, so this is an aggressive signal from the president that he isn’t satisfied with a few drug boats blown up here and there.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham appeared on CBS’ &#8220;Face The Nation&#8221; on Sunday and said he had spoken to President Trump about potential land strikes in South America.
“I think that’s a real possibility,” <a href="https://x.com/FaceTheNation/status/1982479665525613037">said</a> Graham. “I think President Trump has made a decision that Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an indicted drug trafficker, that it’s time for him to go, that Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for narco-terrorists for too long.”
Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro said last week that there are 5,000 Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles stationed around the country to defend the airspace. He also said that “millions of men and women with rifles would march across the country” if the United States were to attack on Venezuelan soil.
Colombia: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro and his family on Friday. Bessent said in a statement that Petro “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity.”
Colombian officials have pushed back, pointing to continued interdiction of cocaine &#8212; but the country’s coca fields have grown continuously since Petro took power in 2022. Trump’s moves against Colombia have received support from Republicans representing sizable communities of Colombian Americans.
“Colombia is once again the number one producer of coke in the world. Colombians don&#8217;t deserve that,” <a href="https://x.com/RepMariaSalazar/status/1982503947744243931">said</a> Florida Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar. “President Trump has a responsibility to stop drugs coming into this country.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">E.J. Antoni On Inflation and Trump’s Trade Deals</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-991435" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Growth-Without-Gimmicks-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Growth-Without-Gimmicks-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Growth-Without-Gimmicks-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Growth-Without-Gimmicks-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Growth-Without-Gimmicks-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Growth-Without-Gimmicks.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: The latest economic report shows inflation slightly cooler than experts predicted at 0.3% rather than the predicted 0.4%. The White House is touting the numbers as yet more proof that Trump’s economic plan is working.
Morning Wire spoke with economist E.J. Antoni of the Heritage Foundation. (The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.)
Morning Wire: First, big picture – we&#8217;re nine months into Trump&#8217;s second term. How is the economy doing?
Antoni: I&#8217;d say the best way to describe it is that it&#8217;s in the midst of a transition, right? For basically the last two years of the Biden administration, you had a labor market that was being propped up in a lot of ways by government hiring. That&#8217;s gone away. In fact, it&#8217;s been replaced with government firings. And the result of that is a drag on the overall jobs numbers, right? In the same way, when you look at something like the way we measure the economy through gross domestic product or GDP, you had government purchases which were accounting for a very large percentage of that. That&#8217;s all gone away. In fact, it&#8217;s been replaced by a reduction in those government purchases, which is a drag on the headline number. What I&#8217;m trying to get at here is, as the government re-privatizes, as the Treasury Secretary says, you will see what looks like sluggish growth – which I think we&#8217;re in right now – but in reality is actually a returning to health. It&#8217;s almost like the chemotherapy that makes you feel really lousy, but gets rid of your cancer.
Morning Wire: The inflation numbers were a little bit cooler than projected. How do you feel about the state of inflation right now?
Antoni: Pretty good, especially since the number one driver of inflation in that CPI report for the month of September was gasoline prices going up so much, except that increase has completely reversed in the first three weeks of October. Now, prices are actually slightly lower than they were in most markets. We should expect the next CPI report – if we can even get it, it&#8217;s unclear because the government shut down – but if we could get it, we would expect even cooler CPI numbers.
Morning Wire: Treasury data show the tariff collection has really surged in recent months. What is the net effect of Trump&#8217;s tariff plan thus far in the economy? Are they working as advertised?
Antoni: Well, I guess it depends on how we want to say as advertised, right? … But here are the facts. They&#8217;re bringing in way more revenue than anticipated to the Treasury. We can certainly have a debate over who is paying for those tariffs. But, the fact is they&#8217;re bringing in billions of dollars in revenue, in fact, hundreds of billions of dollars when you annualize it. That&#8217;s one of the reasons why September had the biggest surplus ever for the month of September in terms of the Treasury monthly statement. It was because not only have we seen a reduction in overall government spending, but an increase in revenues, overall revenues of course, because the economy&#8217;s growing, but also specifically from customs duties, which are from the increase in tariffs.
Morning Wire: Is the reshoring effect — like Stellantis moving some production to the U.S. — is that a real trend or just a few isolated incidents?
Antoni: It’s certainly a real trend, but it is being blunted to a certain extent right now. You are seeing help to the manufacturing sector, and that some of it is being re-shored. But you&#8217;re also seeing, at least in the short term, some pain inflicted on manufacturing because, again, some of the things being tariffed are actually inputs. You&#8217;re making it more expensive, let&#8217;s say, for a car manufacturer to buy steel from abroad for the time being. Now, once that steel gets re-shored back to the United States and you can buy it domestically, then it&#8217;s a moot point, right? But at least for the time being, you&#8217;re having competing effects there where one is helping, the other is hurting.
Morning Wire: Final question, we&#8217;re about to wrap up the year with a couple months left here. What do you project to happen big-picture with the economy over the next few months?
Antoni: I think we&#8217;re going to continue to see some of these very positive trends with economic growth where, although the public sector, the government is shrinking, we&#8217;re going to continue to see growth in the productive private sector. And in particular, one of the reasons why I&#8217;m so optimistic here is that the growth we have seen thus far this year, which I think will continue, has been driven by increases in earnings, not simply increases in debt. … Their money is going further because earnings growth is outpacing inflation. That&#8217;s a very positive development.

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