Economy
Trump touts ‘fantastic trade deals’ with Xi, but details scarce
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had made “fantastic trade deals” and settled “a lot of different problems” in his meetings with China’s Xi Jinping this week, but hours after the summit ended on Friday, details on exact agreements remained scarce.
Trump had arrived in Beijing seeking to seal accords in sectors including agriculture, aviation and artificial intelligence, as well as to contain differences between the two sides in a number of tense geostrategic areas.
After the first day wrapped, Trump said Xi had agreed to help open the Strait of Hormuz, as well as buy 200 Boeing jets, fewer than expected, and more American oil and soybeans.
But there have been no formal announcements, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry would not confirm or deny Trump’s statements when asked on Friday afternoon.
The reserve on the Chinese side echoes the tone of the summit as a whole, where Trump’s overtures to Xi – whom he described as a “great leader” and “friend” – were met with more muted tones by Beijing.
However, the U.S. leader said Friday “a lot of good” had come out of the visit.
“We’ve made some fantastic trade deals, great for both countries,” he said after a walk with Xi among the rosebushes in the gardens of Zhongnanhai, a central leadership compound next to Beijing’s Forbidden City.
“We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to solve,” Trump added, without providing specifics.
Xi, who promised to send Trump seeds for the White House Rose Garden, said it was a “milestone visit.”
He said the two sides had to date established “a new bilateral relationship, which is a relationship of constructive strategic stability.”
On the streets of the capital, reaction to the talks was tepid.
“This meeting could be considered a success – though, to be honest, none of us really had very high expectations to begin with,” Zhang Yong, a 46-year-old IT worker, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
‘Help on Hormuz’
In an interview with Fox News after the summit’s first day, Trump said Xi had agreed to several U.S. wishlist points.
On the topic of the war in Iran, the U.S. president said Xi had effectively assured his counterpart that China was not preparing to militarily aid Tehran, which has essentially closed the Strait of Hormuz.
“He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open, and said ‘if I can be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help,'” Trump said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday released a statement on Iran calling for “a comprehensive and lasting cease-fire.”
“Shipping lanes should be reopened as soon as possible,” it added.
At a regular press briefing later, a ministry spokesperson did not comment when asked if Xi had said China would help with that process.
In the Fox interview, Trump said one big business deal struck involved Xi agreeing to purchase “200 big” Boeing jets.
The president also said Beijing had “agreed it wanted to buy” U.S. oil, and expressed interest in buying American soybeans.
China, which is the key foreign customer of Iranian oil, bought small amounts of U.S. oil before Trump imposed tariffs last year.
It has sharply slowed down purchases of U.S. soybeans, turning instead to Brazil.
China’s Foreign Ministry again did not confirm or deny the details mentioned by Trump.
No announcements were made regarding the advanced Nvidia chips used in artificial intelligence, even though CEO Jensen Huang was among the business leaders in Trump’s business delegation.
Chinese tech firms are barred from purchasing Nvidia’s most cutting-edge chips, under U.S. export rules that Washington says are to protect national security.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that there was discussion about setting up “guardrails” for the use of AI, adding that the world’s “two AI superpowers are going to start talking.”
Taiwan policy ‘unchanged’
The summit began Thursday with a blunt warning from Xi on the longstanding geopolitical flashpoint, Taiwan.
Shortly after talks started, Chinese state media reported Xi had told Trump that missteps on the sensitive issue of Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.”
Trump did not comment on Taiwan during the summit, but Bessent told CNBC the president would say more “in the coming days.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC on Thursday, though, that “U.S. policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged.”
Taipei responded Friday, thanking Washington “for repeatedly expressing its support.”
On Friday, after their garden walk, Xi and Trump had lunch together before the latter left for the airport.
As the U.S. president entered Air Force One just before takeoff, he pumped his fist in the air twice.
“In terms of substance, I do not think there have been major surprises,” The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Yue Su told AFP.
The new description of bilateral ties outlined by Xi “should be seen as a positive sign” in terms of reducing risk in the relationship, she said.
“But… this is likely to be a fragile stability that does not eliminate underlying frictions.”
Türkiye’s newest deep-sea drilling vessel has departed a northern port for its first operational assignment in the Black Sea, the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry said on Friday.
Named Yıldırım, the vessel will begin work at the Türkali-16 well, where it is expected to carry out lower completion operations as part of ongoing offshore natural gas development efforts in the region.
The latest addition to Türkiye’s growing energy fleet, Yıldırım arrived late last year as part of efforts to expand the country’s energy independence through domestic offshore exploration and production.
It was one of the two new vessels that increased the number of Türkiye’s drillships to six, making it the fourth in the world in terms of deep-sea energy fleet.
After arriving in the southern port of Mersin’s Taşucu terminal, Yıldırım was decorated with Turkish flags before departing for Filyos on Jan. 21. It transited through the Çanakkale and Bosporus straits and reached Filyos Port a week later.
Following its arrival, the vessel’s 1,010-ton drilling tower, previously dismantled to allow passage through the straits, was reinstalled at the port. Subsequent testing and commissioning operations were conducted on drilling, vessel and subsea systems, after which the ship was declared ready for operations.
With the deployment of Yıldırım, the number of Turkish deep-sea drilling vessels operating in the Black Sea has increased to five, including Fatih, Yavuz, Kanuni and Abdülhamid Han.
The expanded fleet is expected to further strengthen Türkiye’s exploration and production capabilities in the Black Sea, where the country is continuing offshore natural gas development efforts.
The fleet also includes 11 support vessels, one construction ship and one floating production platform.
Yıldırım is scheduled to begin its first active operation on May 20, focusing on completion works at the Türkali-16 well.
Built in South Korea in 2024, the vessel is classified as a seventh-generation ultra-deepwater drilling ship capable of operating at depths of up to 12,000 meters. It measures 228 meters in length and 42 meters in width, and includes a helicopter landing pad and accommodation facilities for up to 200 personnel.
The Black Sea is home to the Sakarya field, estimated to contain 710 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas.
The reserve was gradually discovered between 2020 and 2022. It will meet approximately 30% of Türkiye’s annual gas needs once the production reaches total capacity. The Sakarya field accounted for about 6.6% of Türkiye’s 53 bcm gas consumption last year, according to calculations.
In mid-May, Türkiye announced the discovery of a new reserve of 75 bcm in the Black Sea.
Daily output at the Sakarya field stands at around 10 million cubic meters (mcm), enough to supply 4 million households. Production is expected to double in 2026, when Türkiye’s first floating gas production platform, Osman Gazi, becomes operational in the second half of the year.
A second, higher-capacity floating production platform is scheduled to come online in 2028, allowing Türkiye to complete the first three phases of the Sakarya project and meet the gas needs of 17 million households. The output is expected to eventually reach 40 mcm a day.
Türkiye, which imports over 90% of its energy needs, is pushing to cut its import bill and boost supply security by developing domestic resources and expanding international partnerships in oil and gas exploration.
Türkiye and China have agreed to deepen cooperation on climate change, resilient cities, clean energy and sustainable infrastructure, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum said on Friday following a visit to Beijing.
Kurum said the two countries also agreed to establish a joint working group focused on climate-related cooperation in the run-up to the United Nations COP31 climate summit, which Türkiye will co-host with Australia in Antalya in November.
Speaking after his May 12-14 visit, Kurum said he held meetings in Beijing with his Chinese counterparts, including Housing and Urban-Rural Development Minister Ni Hong and Ecology and Environment Minister Huang Runqiu, as well as representatives of major international financial institutions.
Those included the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Silk Road Fund and the China Energy Investment Corporation.
Kurum said discussions focused on expanding cooperation in housing, urban development and climate policy, while also advancing Türkiye’s COP31 agenda that he said will center on implementation-oriented climate action.
“Our goal is for COP31 in Antalya to be an implementation-focused summit that delivers concrete outcomes,” Kurum told Anadolu Agency (AA). “We are conducting international engagement based on dialogue, cooperation and consensus-building.”
He said COP31 priorities include resilient cities, clean energy transition, sustainable infrastructure and climate finance.
Similar climate goals
Kurum said Türkiye and China share similar long-term climate goals, noting that both countries have announced net-zero targets for mid-century – Türkiye by 2053 and China by 2060.
He added that both countries already generate around 60% of their energy from renewable sources, underscoring what he described as a shared commitment to implementation rather than rhetoric.
“While many countries are still discussing climate action, Türkiye and China stand out with concrete implementation,” he said.
Urban resilience, post-earthquake reconstruction
Kurum said one of the key areas of cooperation discussed with Chinese Housing Minister Ni Hong was urban resilience and construction.
He noted that Türkiye completed and delivered 455,000 housing units within two years following the devastating 2023 earthquakes, describing the effort as a large-scale national reconstruction program.
“We shared Türkiye’s experience from the earthquake reconstruction process and the political will demonstrated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” Kurum said. “We agreed to explore strategic cooperation in this area.”
He said both sides agreed to collaborate on building resilient cities, improving earthquake preparedness and developing sustainable urban projects.
Türkiye also plans to share its technical expertise and regulatory experience with the international community through COP31, Kurum added.
Climate finance, investment cooperation
Kurum said financing remains the most critical component of climate and sustainability projects, noting that without financial mechanisms, implementation remains limited.
As part of Türkiye’s COP31 presidency, he said meetings were held with international investment funds and financial institutions in China to explore funding mechanisms for climate-related projects.
He said the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) agreed to cooperate on sustainable cities, clean energy access and climate adaptation projects. Specific financing proposals are expected to be announced at COP31 in Antalya.
Kurum also said cooperation with Türkiye’s Iller Bank would support local governments in areas including earthquake risk reduction, clean energy, water treatment facilities, waste management and climate adaptation projects.
He added that discussions with the Silk Road Fund included proposals to ensure that Belt and Road Initiative projects align with zero-emission targets.
Talks with China Energy Investment Corporation focused on renewable energy investments and public-private partnership models, including build-operate-transfer schemes.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that China has agreed to order 200 Boeing jets, marking the country’s first purchase of U.S.-made commercial jets in nearly a decade.
No details about the deal were immediately available, but 200 jets would be far fewer than the 500-jet deal that industry sources said had been discussed. It would also be far fewer than the number of new aircraft needed by Chinese airlines to keep up with the country’s booming demand for air travel.
Boeing shares fell more than 4% after the comments were aired.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump was referring to the entire Boeing order or only to narrowbody or widebody planes. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier had said that he expected an announcement about a large Boeing order during Trump’s visit to Beijing, during which he held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“One thing he agreed to today, he’s going to order 200 jets … 200 big ones,” Trump told Fox News Channel, referring to Xi.
It was not clear whether Trump was referring to single-aisle 737 Maxes or larger – and much more expensive – twin-aisle 777X or 787 jets used on long-haul flights.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp were among the group of American executives who accompanied Trump to China, one of the world’s largest commercial aviation markets, in hopes of clinching deals or resolving business disputes.
During Trump’s November 2017 trip, Beijing agreed to buy 300 Boeing airplanes. However, subsequent trade disputes between the countries effectively shut Boeing out of the world’s second-largest aviation market, which it once dominated.
The fallout between Beijing and Washington, followed by the 737 Max crisis after two fatal crashes, led to the grounding of the plane, as well as later production problems at Boeing, which allowed rival Airbus to cement its lead in the Chinese market. The European planemaker had already been aggressively courting Chinese airlines, even embedding itself into Beijing’s political economy by opening an A320 final assembly line in Tianjin in 2008.
However, China’s aviation market is too big to depend on one planemaker. The country will require at least 9,000 new jetliners by 2045, according to market projections by both Boeing and Airbus.
Trump has aggressively pushed countries during trade talks to boost purchases of Boeing airplanes.
A Boeing deal has been in talks for many months, but geopolitical tensions, trade disputes and fights over intellectual property of advanced aerospace components have foiled earlier attempts to close a deal, according to industry sources familiar with previous negotiations.
Boeing CEO Ortberg last month told Reuters he was counting on the Trump administration’s support to seal a major deal with China.
Shares were down 3.8% at 1400 ET.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday stressed strong cooperation in the defense industry after Türkiye and Kazakhstan signed a deal to establish a joint venture for the manufacturing of drones.
Erdoğan’s remarks came during a business forum in Astana, where he arrived for an official visit and the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).
Earlier on Thursday, Erdoğan and his Kazakh counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, oversaw the signing of 13 agreements spanning investment, energy, defense, education, media and infrastructure.
Among them was an agreement to set up a joint venture for the production and maintenance of drones, the countries said.
The deal covers Anka unmanned aerial vehicles developed by the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). Kazakhstan is already operating several Anka drones, for which it signed a contract back in late 2021. Deliveries were completed by 2023.
Türkiye is among the world’s top unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturers and exporters. Its drones gained prominence globally after being used by Ukraine’s military against Russian forces as well as in campaigns in Azerbaijan and North Africa.
Erdoğan said Türkiye and Kazakhstan enjoy strong cooperation in the defense industry and reaffirmed their intention to deepen ties through new projects, including joint production initiatives.
“We have very good cooperation with Kazakhstan in the field of the defense industry. Today, we confirmed our will to advance this cooperation with new projects, including joint production,” he told the forum.
Trade goal
Kazakhstan was Türkiye’s largest trading partner in the Turkic world in 2025, when their bilateral trade approached $10 billion, but Erdoğan said that was not enough.
“We are not content with this. We are determinedly continuing our efforts to sustainably and balanced reach our target of $15 billion,” he said.
Nearly 5,500 Turkish companies operate in Kazakhstan with investments reaching $6 billion across sectors, including construction, finance, tourism and information technology.
According to Erdoğan, Turkish contractors have undertaken more than 500 projects across Kazakhstan worth nearly $30 billion.
The Turkish president also said more than 750 Kazakh companies are operating in Türkiye with investments approaching $2 billion.
Artificial intelligence, energy cooperation
Later on Thursday, Erdoğan visited Alem.AI, a major international artificial intelligence center, alongside Tokayev.
At the forum, Erdoğan praised Kazakhstan’s advances in AI and welcomed the decision to make artificial intelligence and digital development the main theme of the OTS summit due to be held on Friday in the southern Kazakh city of Turkistan.
Highlighting regional economic challenges, including energy supply security, AI transformation and disruptions in supply chains, the Turkish leader stressed the growing importance of international cooperation.
On the energy partnership, Erdoğan said the two sides discussed opportunities ranging from hydrocarbon production and transportation to the exploration of critical minerals.
“We are a country that has secured its energy supply security by ensuring resource diversification years ago. We wish to transport larger volumes of oil from Kazakhstan to global markets via our country,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and KazMunayGas signed two separate agreements, including a cooperation deal on oil field services and a memorandum on the joint development of oil and gas projects.
Erdoğan added that Türkiye is working to revive the Caspian-transit East-West Middle Corridor by integrating railway connections, port infrastructure and digital customs systems.
“Our goal remains to bring the Eurasian region into a more competitive position in the global economy while bringing our countries closer together,” Erdoğan said.
India’s capital New Delhi introduced fuel-saving measures on Thursday, including work-from-home days for government employees following Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeal for reduced consumption as the Middle East war disrupts supply chains.
India is one of the few countries in the region that has not increased prices of petrol and diesel for domestic consumers or rationed supplies.
However, it has increased prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) – a primary cooking fuel in India – after disruptions following the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that led to Iran’s near-total blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the 90-day drive will entail reduced official fuel use and travel, and a push for residents to cut back on private vehicle use and shift to public transport in the sprawling megacity.
Government offices will have two work-from-home days a week for those able to work remotely, Gupta said, adding that the private sector was expected to follow suit voluntarily.
“Our appeal to the people of Delhi is that once a week, each of us should have a no-vehicle day,” Gupta told reporters.
Other austerity measures will include the cancellation of large official public events over the next three months and foreign travel for a year, she said.
The Delhi government will also halt purchases of new petrol, diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG) or hybrid vehicles for six months, the chief minister said.
Modi said on Sunday that restrictions on fuel use were also necessary to save foreign currency spent on fuel imports.
“We must also place a strong emphasis on saving foreign exchange, as petrol and diesel have become so expensive globally,” he said.
New Delhi has also boosted its import tariffs on gold and silver in an effort to shore up the sagging value of the rupee and bolster foreign currency reserves hit by the war.
The momentum in the property market in Türkiye picked up pace in April as both house and commercial property sales increased in the month, official data showed on Thursday.
A total of 126,808 houses were sold in Türkiye in April, up 2.6% from a year earlier, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
The figure compares with 123,569 housing sales recorded in the same month last year and cumulatively looking it is also the highest figure this year so far.
House sales, which are divided into new home sales and second-hand sales, were relatively lower in the first quarter following a record achieved in sales in December last year.
Accordingly, in April, new house sales surged by 9.6% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching 40,306 units, as per TurkStat.
Second-home sales, meanwhile, decreased by 0.3% over the same period to 86,502 units.
Thus, new house sales accounted for 31.8% while existing house sales accounted for 68.2% of total house sales.
Mortgage-financed home sales jumped 40.5% to 25,771, accounting for 20.3% of total transactions in the same month.
Meanwhile, sales to foreign buyers declined 1.1% to 1,516 units, with Russians, Chinese and Iranians among the top purchasers, data revealed. In January-April, house sales to foreigners decreased by 11.6% year-over-year to 5,681 units.
In the first four months of the year, total house sales stood at 476,204 units, up 0.5% year-on-year.
Commercial property sales, which TurkStat recently included in its monthly housing report, have also increased in April.
New commercial property sales rose by 14.3% on an annual basis, reaching 4,301 units, while second-hand ones were up 8.7% and stood at 11,393 units, respectively.
Turks tend to invest in the residential sector and gold to shield themselves from the surge in consumer prices.
Annual inflation in the country picked up slightly to around 32.4% in April after a long period of declining trend, mainly due to the rise in energy and food prices following the start of the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran.
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