☕ Will nukes be tested in the U.S?

Good morning!

While you were sleeping, some high-stakes meetings were taking place in South Korea - the first face-to-face meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping since 2019.

That’s a chunky enough news story on its own - but throw in a development about nuclear weapons testing, and you have yourself a jam-packed newsletter this morning.

I’ve got 30 seconds

Some headlines from this morning:

• Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba overnight as a Category 3 storm after killing more than 30 people across Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The storm struck Jamaica yesterday as a Category 5 hurricane - the strongest in the island's recorded history - and Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared it a disaster area. UN officials estimated 1 million Jamaicans were affected, with the country experiencing "devastation to levels never seen before," according to UN resident coordinator Dennis Zulu. Melissa moved away from the Bahamas as a Category 2 storm, with hurricane conditions expected to continue in the region.

• A drug raid in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro has left at least 132 people dead, marking the deadliest police operation in the country’s history. An estimated 2,500 police officers raided the Red Command gang – the oldest criminal group in Brazil – on Tuesday (local time). Four police officers were killed during a shootout with the gang. Rio residents were seen carrying the bodies of more than 100 gang members into a town square. In a post on X, Rio’s Governor Cláudio Castro said 118 weapons and 1 tonne of drugs were seized by police during the raids. The UN Human Rights High Commissioner said: “Brazil must break the cycle of extreme brutality and ensure that law enforcement operations comply with international standards regarding the use of force”.

• Nvidia has become the first publicly traded company to reach a $5 trillion valuation on Wednesday, driven by surging demand for its AI chips. The milestone comes just 11 weeks after the chipmaker hit $4 trillion, reflecting its central role in powering artificial intelligence systems worldwide. Analysts have warned that the company’s rapid growth and large valuation make Nvidia a potential vulnerability for the global economy if its dominance falters. The company faces uncertainty about access to China's market, which President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping discussed during their overnight meeting.

• The Toronto Blue Jays have won a second straight game against the Los Angeles Dodgers to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Pitcher Trey Yesavage starred for the Blue Jays, conceding just one run in seven innings to help the away side win 6-1. After three games in Los Angeles, both teams will now head to Toronto for Game 6, where the Blue Jays will have a chance to clinch the World Series in front of their home fans.

I’ve got 1 minute

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met overnight at a military base in South Korea, reaching a deal to reduce U.S. tariffs on China in exchange for resumed soybean purchases and for eased export restrictions on rare-earth elements.

The meeting marked the first sit-down between the leaders since Trump returned to office in January.

The meeting

The two leaders met at a military base adjacent to Busan's international airport, ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. After the meeting, Trump announced that the U.S. would cut tariffs on Chinese imports to 47% from 57% by reducing levies related to trade in fentanyl precursor chemicals to 10% from 20%.

China agreed to resume buying U.S. soybeans - which Beijing had stopped purchasing in May - and to suspend rare-earth export curbs for one year. Rare earth elements are critical materials used in manufacturing military equipment, automobiles, wind turbines, and mobile phones. 90% of rare-earth production occurs in China.

A ‘12/10’ meeting

Trump announced he will visit China in April, and Xi would come to the U.S. "sometime after that." The plans were confirmed in a Chinese readout of the meeting.

Trump said he could sign a trade deal with China "pretty soon." He also mentioned that Nvidia would be in talks with Chinese officials about exporting more advanced computer chips to China.

The President also said the war in Ukraine came up "very strongly" during the meeting, and the two leaders discussed it for a long time. Taiwan, however, "never came up" and was "not discussed”.

After the meeting, Trump told reporters: "I guess on the scale from 0 to 10, with ten being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12. He is a great leader. I think it was a 12."

China

Xi opened the talks by saying that "China's development and rejuvenation are not incompatible with President Trump's goal of 'Making America Great Again.'" He added that he was willing to work with Trump to "lay a solid foundation for China-U.S. relations and create a favorable environment for the development of both nations."

The Chinese president told Trump through a translator that he was "ready to continue working with you to build a solid foundation for China-US relations."

I’ve got 2 minutes

President Trump has ordered the U.S. military to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons, ending a pause of more than three decades. The announcement came just before Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea for trade negotiations. Here's what you need to know.

What happened?

Trump posted on Truth Social while aboard Marine One helicopter, saying he instructed the Pentagon to test the U.S. nuclear arsenal on an "equal basis" with other nuclear powers. "Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis," Trump wrote. "That process will begin immediately."

The President said the U.S. has more nuclear weapons than any other country, with Russia second and China "a distant third, but will be even within 5 years."

Later, aboard Air Force One returning to Washington, Trump said testing sites would be determined later and declined to specify which countries prompted his decision.

"With others doing testing, I think it's appropriate that we do also," Trump said.

1992 tests

The U.S. last conducted a nuclear weapons test in 1992, before President George H.W. Bush issued a moratorium as the Cold War ended. No nuclear power except North Korea has carried out explosive testing in more than 25 years. North Korea's last nuclear test was in 2017.

The U.S. signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996, which bans underground nuclear testing, though it has never ratified the accord. The Nevada Test Site, 65 miles north of Las Vegas, is still operated by the U.S. government and could be authorized again for nuclear weapons testing if deemed necessary.

The nuclear landscape

According to research group Arms Control Association, the U.S. has a stockpile of 5,225 nuclear warheads and Russia has 5,580. China has roughly 600 nuclear weapons - more than double its arsenal from 2020, when it had 300 weapons. U.S. military officials estimate China will have more than 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030.

Russia announced over the weekend that it successfully tested a Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedo and a Burevestnik cruise missile - both capable of carrying nuclear warheads, though neither test involved detonating nuclear weapons.

Trump's announcement comes as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) expires in four months. The treaty, which expires in February 2026, limits the U.S. and Russia to 1,550 nuclear warheads.

Reactions

China's Foreign Ministry called for the U.S. to "earnestly abide" by its commitment to an indefinite pause on nuclear testing.

According to the Russian state news agency RIA, one senior Russian lawmaker said Trump's decision would bring in "a new era of unpredictability and open confrontation”.

Representative Dina Titus, a Democrat from Nevada, said on X: "I'll be introducing legislation to put a stop to this."

Gary Samore, who served as the top expert on weapons of mass destruction for President Bill Clinton's National Security Council, said testing is unnecessary, saying a resumption of testing "would be a gift to Russia and China, which are developing new types of nuclear weapons and would benefit from the resumption of testing."

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