“Overall, I guess on the scale of from zero to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12.” Such was the effusive language with which President Donald Trump described his Thursday meeting with Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping.

The two heads of state and their senior advisors met for an hour and 40 minutes on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea, where they hammered out preliminary agreements on topics ranging from tariffs to soybeans to rare earth export controls. The meeting provided the capstone to Trump’s five-day Asia tour, which began on Sunday with Trump signing numerous economic agreements with nations in southeast Asia.

In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump detailed his achievements in the meeting with Xi. “I had a truly great meeting with President Xi of China,” he wrote. “We agreed on many things, with others, even of high importance, being very close to resolved. … The agreements reached today will deliver Prosperity and Security to millions of Americans.”

The details of the agreement largely lined up with what China expert Gordon Chang predicted Monday on “Washington Watch.”

China agreed to postpone for one year the implementation of strict export controls on rare-earth minerals, which are critical to producing batteries, smartphones, and military equipment. China currently controls most of the world’s market for these minerals, and the export controls put American industries into jeopardy.

China also agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans from the United States in 2025, plus 25 million metric tons annually for the next three years, as well as other farm products. American soybean farmers had been struggling to find buyers after trade disputes drove Chinese customers elsewhere this year.

The U.S. agreed to immediately lower tariffs on Chinese goods by 10%, after China agreed to work harder to stop the flow of illicit fentanyl. This lowers the total effective U.S. tariff rate on Chinese goods from 57% to 47%. “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 wrote.

“This is going to be just something that we have to look at day in and day out, because we do not want the Chinese dishonoring the agreements that they made with us,” remarked Chang on Monday. “We are giving up a concrete action — not imposing 100% tariff — and we’re doing that in exchange for vague Chinese promises. And we’ve been down this road before: the Chinese don’t honor their obligations.” If China doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain, Chang said, “I hope that President Trump will just impose an additional tariff.”

Trump and Xi also discussed ways to “work together” to end the war in Ukraine, including getting China to stop buying Russian oil, purchases which are funding Russia’s war machine. “Trump has not imposed that additional 25% tariff on China for buying Russian oil. That’s the tariff we’ve already imposed on India,” said Chang. “The Chinese say that they’re going to stop buying Russian oil. I think we have to see it before we believe it.” Instead, Trump hopes to convince China to purchase American oil from Alaska.

According to the Chinese Commerce Ministry, the U.S. agreed to a one-year hold on applying export restrictions to subsidiaries of blacklisted Chinese entities, which pose a national security threat or a threat of intellectual property theft. Both sides also agreed to a one-year pause on reciprocal port fees.

One issue apparently not discussed — or at least not mentioned in public reporting — is China’s recent religious freedom violations, including the groundless arrests of prominent pastors.

Notably, many of the agreements between Trump and Xi were made for a duration of one year. “Every year we’ll renegotiate the deal, but I think it’ll go on for a long time,” Trump said. In his mind, the most important fact is that “we have a deal.”

This arrangement concedes that the U.S. and China have not yet reached a long-term understanding on trade. The question then becomes, “Who uses this year best or better?” Chang asked. “I think it’s going to be the United States, because we see that we’re taking measures to reduce our vulnerability to China, but China is doubling down on policies that make it more trade dependent, which means making it more dependent on the U.S.”

Chang pointed to efforts by the Trump administration to develop rare earth mineral deposits in other nations, including Australia, Thailand, and Malaysia. American companies have also sought to diversify their supply chain to countries outside of China. Of course, “Building new mines and, especially, expanding processing capacity — which is the real bottleneck — requires years of sustained effort and substantial investment,” noted Swedish analyst Patrik Andersson.

Yet Chang still sees short-term progress. For decades, American presidents have pursued open economic policies towards China that entangled the U.S. and enhanced China’s influence. “The trade agreements that President Trump has been signing up this year — they tend to isolate China. And that’s important for us,” said Chang. “So, we’re going in a good direction.”

In a year’s time, the U.S. and China will learn how far each party has moved.