US President Donald Trump has welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a state summit expected to showcase stable ties despite underlying rivalry between the two countries.
It will be the second meeting between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies this year, but Xi’s first visit to Washington in more than a decade.
President Trump greeted Xi on arrival on Wednesday evening, marking the first time in 11 years that a US president had welcomed a foreign leader at Joint Base Andrews.
According to C-SPAN, which tracks presidential events, the last such occasion was when President Barack Obama welcomed Pope Francis in 2015.
In a statement upon arrival, Xi expressed hope for a more stable relationship with the United States, saying Beijing and Washington should be partners, not rivals, and that the “historical logic of peaceful coexistence” between the two countries had not changed.
For Trump, who relishes ceremony and prizes his ties with powerful leaders, the visit is as much a matter of national prestige as an opportunity for high-stakes diplomacy.
The US president aims to reciprocate the grand welcome he received in China in May and impress Xi with a ceremony spanning the White House South Lawn, State Floor and Rose Garden. Major breakthroughs are not expected.
Analysts say tangible outcomes are likely to be limited to an extension of a trade truce expiring in November and an agreement to examine threats posed by artificial intelligence.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told newsmen on Wednesday after talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng that they had agreed to extend until January 10 an agreement that paused a trade war that saw mutual tariffs top 100%.
People familiar with the plans say the talks could also yield deals to lower some tariffs, combat drug trafficking and expand military-to-military dialogue, while Trump is expected to seek the release of Americans and others detained in China.
TRADE DEALS POSSIBLE
Trump is seeking trade wins ahead of the midterms, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said this month the countries will make “some announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers”.
Greer said on Monday that China was making progress towards a commitment to buy 200 Boeing aircraft but gave no indication that any additional orders were imminent.
The guest list for Thursday’s state dinner includes CEOs like Apple’s Tim Cook, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, Open AI’s Sam Altman, Tesla’s Elon Musk and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, but despite such an array, people familiar with US plans say Trump is likely to maintain firm export controls on US tech Xi wants loosened.
Reuters
