© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Journalism of Courage
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the heads of the two largest economies in the world, met for the first time since June 2019 in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday. The Trump-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and the two leaders discussed a wide range of topics from tariffs to Ukraine. This week also saw a major diplomatic win for India as the United States (US) agreed to exempt the country from sanctions on the Chabahar port project in Iran for six months. Chabahar holds major strategic importance for India due to its location on the open sea beyond the Strait of Hormuz, one of the three key choke points in the Indian Ocean. This week also saw the fragile ceasefire in Gaza being tested once again, with both Israel and Hamas accusing the other of violating the terms of the agreement that came into effect on October 10 . Here’s the weekly roundup of key global news.
US President Donald Trump concluded his trip to Asia on Thursday, following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the South Korean city of Busan. Trump visited Malaysia on October 26 for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. This was followed by a visit to Japan from October 27 to 29, where he had several high-profile meetings, including with newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Emperor Naruhito. After Japan, Trump travelled to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Trump’s meeting with Xi dominated his Asia tour. The meeting came after months of hostilities between the two sides after Trump assumed office in January 2025 and made China his ‘enemy No. 1’ when it comes to bilateral trade. Trump, who campaigned on a promise to reduce the US trade deficit, followed it up by imposing tariffs on Chinese imports.
But following their meeting in Busan, Trump announced that US tariffs imposed on China will be reduced by 10 percentage points, from 57 per cent to 47 per cent. He also said that the fentanyl tariffs on China will now be reduced to 10 per cent from 20 per cent.
Another major development to come out of the Trump-Xi meeting was a US-China deal on rare earth minerals. Trump and Xi signed a deal to keep the flow of rare earth minerals to the US unhindered.
Why does it matter?
China is the world leader in rare earth minerals, a group of 17 elements that are used in smartphones, household appliances, electric vehicles (EVs), medical devices, and advanced military hardware such as missiles, radar systems, and the F-35 fighter jet. The US is the biggest consumer of rare earth minerals, and earlier this month, China tightened export controls on rare earths and related technologies by mandating a licence. After the Trump-Xi meeting, China agreed on a one-year pause on the export controls. This, however, did not apply to earlier restrictions on specific rare earths for licensing and military use.
The US has granted India a six-month sanctions waiver to operate the Iranian port of Chabahar. Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on Iran’s southern coast, the Chabahar port is a key strategic project for India as it offers an alternative trade route to Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan. Chabahar is also central to India’s strategy to counter China’s growing influence in Eurasia and the Indian Ocean with the Gwadar port in Pakistan. In 2018, the first Trump administration granted a sanctions waiver for India on the Chabahar port, for Afghanistan reconstruction assistance and economic development. However, in September 2025, the second Trump administration announced it would withdraw the 2018 sanctions waiver as part of its maximum pressure policy on Iran. The revocation officially took effect on September 29, 2025, but it has now been extended by six months.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday confirmed that three Indian companies had received licences for importing rare earth minerals from China. “Some Indian companies have received licences for importing rare earth magnets from China… We have to look at how the US and China talks will play into our domain…” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The companies are Continental India, Hitachi India, and Jay Ushin. Like other countries, India has also faced difficulties in the procurement of rare earth magnets after China imposed restrictions on their export in April. On October 9, China’s Ministry of Commerce tightened the export restrictions with a new law under which foreign entities had to obtain a licence from China to export rare earth materials. China controls 61 per cent of the production and 92 per cent of the processing capacity of rare earth magnets.
The ceasefire in Gaza, which came into effect on October 10, faced its biggest challenge so far this week. On Tuesday, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservist, Master Sgt Yona Efraim Feldbaum, was killed after he was hit by sniper fire in Rafah, while he was within the Yellow Line, the designated point to which the IDF had withdrawn as part of the ceasefire agreement. The attack, for which Hamas denied involvement, and the militant group’s perceived failure to hand over the remains of all slain hostages boiled over into what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a ‘powerful attack’ on Gaza. At least 104 people were killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza between Tuesday and Wednesday, the highest toll since the ceasefire was reached. Hamas has so far handed over the remains of 17 out of the 28 slain hostages from the October 7, 2023, attack. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the handover of the remaining hostages, in violation of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Pakistan and the Taliban government in neighbouring Afghanistan on Thursday agreed to extend the ceasefire by a week during peace talks in Istanbul. “Afghanistan, Pakistan, Türkiye and Qatar held meetings in Istanbul from 25-30 October 2025 aimed at solidifying the ceasefire which was agreed by Afghanistan and Pakistan in Doha on 18-19 October 2025 with the mediation of Türkiye and Qatar. All parties have agreed on the continuation of the ceasefire,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The two sides agreed on extending the ceasefire, days after talks in Istanbul collapsed over controlling the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), better known as the Pakistani Taliban.
Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering and arming the TTP, which has been waging a war against the government in Islamabad. The Afghan Taliban, on the other hand, has maintained that it has no control over the Pakistani Taliban, which has launched attacks against Pakistani troops in recent weeks. Pakistan was one of the only three countries to recognise the first Taliban regime in Afghanistan between 1996-2001. Pakistan also harboured Afghan Taliban leaders during the US invasion until their return to power in August 2021. But the relationship has since soured over a range of issues, including TTP, the return of Afghan refugees, and the Afghan rejection of the Durand Line, the border between the two countries. Earlier this month, Pakistan carried out air strikes in Kabul and other locations, targeting the Pakistani Taliban. The Afghan Taliban also retaliated, with both sides claiming to have inflicted heavy casualties on the other. The clashes coincided with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to India.
Send your feedback and ideas to bobins.abraham@indianexpress.com
Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for October 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨
