Trump targets ‘complete deal’ with China as he lands in Asia, touts India ‘is cutting back completely’ on Russian oil

US President Donald Trump said he will likely discuss the decrease in Chinese imports of Russian oil with Xi Jinping, especially after US sanctions on two key oil firms, Rosneft and Lukoil. He further claimed that both China and India have cut down their oil imports from Russia, reported Bloomberg.

“I may be discussing it, but you know China’s — you probably saw today — China is cutting back very substantially on the purchase of Russian oil, and India is cutting back completely, and we’ve done sanctions,” Trump told reporters.

Trump's remarks come after his repeated claims that India would not engage in the Russian oil trade. Earlier, he said PM Modi had assured him India would stop purchasing Russian oil after the US levied additional tariffs on India over Russian imports.

Meanwhile, ahead of his meeting with Asian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump hoped that the discussions would result in a “complete deal.”

US-China tensions

Tensions between the US and China over trade, technology, and raw material restrictions have heightened the importance of Trump’s upcoming visit to Asia. Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea.

Ahead of the meeting of the world's largest economies' leaders, US and Chinese negotiators conducted trade discussions in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, which a US Treasury spokesperson described as “very constructive.” Teams led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng intend to continue talks on Sunday.

Trump-Xi meet

Trump is hopeful about discussions with Xi, mentioning they will cover the agriculture sector and China’s export of fentanyl components.

This meeting will be the first face-to-face discussion between the leaders since Trump returned to the White House in January. They have spoken at least three times this year, and Trump has emphasised that direct talks are the most effective way to address issues like tariffs, export restrictions, agricultural imports, fentanyl trafficking, and geopolitical hotspots such as Taiwan and Ukraine.

“We’ll be talking about a lot of things. I think we have a really good chance of making a very comprehensive deal,” he said.

Trump calls out Putin

While criticising Russian President Vladimir Putin for handling of Ukraine war, Trump said he is unsure if Russia would work with him to end the war in Ukraine.

“I’m not going to be wasting my time,” Trump said after the recently cancelled talks with Putin. “I’ve always had a great relationship with Vladimir Putin, but this has been very disappointing.”

As Russia marks the fourth year of its invasion of Ukraine, the US on Wednesday implemented its first major sanctions targeting Russia’s petroleum sector. It also warned that foreign financial institutions risk being cut off from the US financial system if they continue to do business with Rosneft and Lukoil. Additionally, Trump withdrew from plans to meet with Putin in Hungary.

(With inputs from agencies.)