Trump touts ‘12 out of 10’ meeting with Xi, downplays reports of Venezuela strikes

President Donald Trump spent the week in Asia meeting with other global leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping while his administration ramped up its attacks against alleged drug boats in Latin America Trump met with Xi Thursday in South Korea where the two hashed out a series of agreements concerning deal Specifically Trump stated he agreed to cut tariffs on Chinese imports by reducing the rate to from to because China commented it would cooperate with the U S on addressing the fentanyl situation Additionally Trump stated that he would not move forward with imposing an additional tariff on Chinese goods that were expected to kick in Saturday Trump threatened the steep hike after China released in October it would impose export controls on rare earth magnets which he reported China had agreed to postpone by a year Afterward Trump described the meeting as a massive success and signaled that a broader bargain deal between the two countries would be signed shortly TRUMP XI MEET IN EFFORT TO RESOLVE TRANSACTION TENSIONS SPARKED BY US TARIFFS Zero to with being the best I d say the meeting was a Trump explained reporters after meeting with Xi A lot of decisions were made and we ve come to a conclusion on very numerous essential points From China s point of view Xi announced afterward the two countries should work together and complete outstanding tasks from the summit for the peace of mind of China the U S and the rest of the world Both sides should take the long-term perspective into account focusing on the benefits of cooperation rather than falling into a vicious cycle of mutual retaliation Xi stated according to a state media account on the meeting TRUMP ANNOUNCES MEETING WITH XI JINPING AT SOUTH KOREA APEC SUMMIT SCHEDULED FOR NEXT MONTHAdditionally Trump disclosed on the Asia trip which also included stops in Malaysia and Japan that he would instruct the U S to revive nuclear weapons testing upending decades of precedent on nuclear initiative as the U S has not conducted nuclear weapons testing since The announcement also left lawmakers experts and military personnel wondering what he meant since no other country has conducted a known nuclear test since North Korea in China s and Russia s last known tests go back to the s when Russia was still the Soviet Union The White House did not provide comment to Fox News Digital The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment TRUMP STATES ASIA TOUR RETURNED 'TRILLIONS' TO US AHEAD OF CRITICAL MEETING WITH CHINA'S XIHowever experts are aligned that Trump likely meant he would instruct the U S to either increase its testing of nuclear-powered weapons systems or conduct tests of low-yield nuclear weapons Vice President JD Vance recounted reporters Thursday that Trump would continue to work on nuclear proliferation but mentioned testing would be done to guarantee weapons are working at optimal capability It's an significant part of American national precaution to make sure that this nuclear arsenal we have indeed functions properly Vance declared And that's part of a testing regime To be clear we know that it does work properly but you got to keep on top of it over time And the president just wants to make sure that we do that with his nation TRUMP THREATENS 'MASSIVE' CHINA TARIFFS SEES 'NO REASON' TO MEET WITH XIThe Trump administration also stepped up its campaign against drug cartels in Latin America totaling at least strikes against alleged drug boats in the region Secretary of War Pete Hegseth declared Tuesday that the U S had conducted three strikes against four vessels in the Eastern Pacific and Hegseth publicized Wednesday another strike had also been conducted in those waters But the White House dismissed reports Friday that the Trump administration had identified and was poised to strike military targets within Venezuela imminently Trump later explained reporters that he hadn t determined whether he would conduct strikes within Venezuela Lawmakers including several Republicans have pressed for more answers on the strikes and have questioned if they are even legal For example Sens Adam Schiff D-Calif Tim Kaine D-Va and Rand Paul R-Ky spearheaded a war powers resolution that would prohibit U S armed forces from engaging in hostilities against Venezuela The Trump administration has made it clear they may launch military action inside Venezuela s borders and won't stop at boat strikes in the Caribbean Schiff stated in an Oct announcement The Associated Press contributed to this description