U.S. President Donald Trump stated during his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, that the Ukraine conflict was a central topic of their discussions, emphasizing plans for Washington and Beijing to collaborate on a resolution. Trump shared these remarks aboard Air Force One as he left South Korea, where he met with Xi earlier Thursday.
“The situation in Ukraine came up very strongly,” Trump said. “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 added that he and Xi “agree that the sides are locked in fighting and sometimes you gotta let them fight, I guess,” while noting that Xi would assist in addressing the crisis.
Trump clarified that he had not requested Xi to halt Chinese purchases of Russian oil, despite prior commitments to do so before the talks. Meanwhile, Xi encouraged joint efforts between the U.S. and China to address global challenges, stating, “China and the U.S. can jointly shoulder their responsibility as major countries.” He highlighted Trump’s interest in resolving international conflicts and reiterated China’s support for peace negotiations.
Xi reaffirmed China’s stance on the Ukraine conflict, noting that it would continue promoting dialogue regardless of developments but cautioned that complex issues lack simple solutions. The text also references growing Russia-China cooperation since 2022, with Beijing becoming a key buyer of Russian oil after Western sanctions, and their designation of ties as a “strategic partnership without limits.”