Factbox-Corporate concerns mount ahead of Trump and Xi talks in South Korea

(Reuters) -Global companies have a long list of concerns around the U.S.-China trade war. They will closely monitor President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping's expected meeting in South Korea on Thursday, hoping that the world's two biggest economies begin to resolve their differences.

Below are the biggest issues for global companies.

SEMICONDUCTORS

The U.S. semiconductor industry will closely watch the talks for indications of a deal over whether U.S. firms can sell powerful artificial intelligence chips to China. While Nvidia is the market leader, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel are trying to gain market share, and a raft of other chip companies from Broadcom to Marvell Technology that help develop AI chips will feel the impact. Also critical will be discussions over critical minerals and materials, which affect chip manufacturers such as Intel and GlobalFoundries. Those materials have become a flashpoint in the tussle between the U.S. and China over Chinese access to the tools needed to build out its own semiconductor manufacturing industry. Those tools come from U.S. firms such as Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA.

PHARMACEUTICALS

China is an important manufacturer of both finished pharmaceutical products and key ingredients of drugs used in the U.S.

In 2024, China was the eighth-largest exporter of pharmaceutical products to the U.S., accounting for more than 3.5% of those products imported for the year, according to U.S. trade data.

More importantly, China is the largest manufacturer globally of the key building blocks used to make pharmaceutical ingredients. According to a report published earlier this month by U.S. Pharmacopeia, China is the sole supplier of over 40% of the key starting materials for U.S.-approved pharmaceutical ingredients.

The top Chinese drug companies include Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, WuXi AppTec, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group and Sinopharm Group.

ENERGY

U.S. energy companies, particularly LNG exporters including Venture Global LNG and Cheniere Energy, will be paying close attention to see if the Trump-Xi meeting can restart frozen energy flows after China levied a 15% tariff on American LNG in February.

China had been a major buyer before that, purchasing nearly 6% of U.S. exports of the fuel in 2024. Since the tariffs were imposed, Chinese companies have not signed any new long-term supply deals with U.S. LNG producers, and the country has been diverting U.S. cargoes to the European market in a move that has tempered global prices.

The U.S., meanwhile, has not exported any oil to China since February, when a 10% tariff was also imposed on crude. Exports to China totaled only about 4% of American shipments abroad – about 150,000 barrels per day – in 2024, down 42% from the previous year.