China's Xi Jinping hailed positive trade negotiations with the United States at the start of a two-day summit with President Donald Trump in Beijing on Thursday, with discussions also set to cover the Iran war and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
With his approval ratings dented by his entanglement in the Middle East, Trump's hotly anticipated trip to China - the first by a U.S. president to America's main strategic rival since his last visit there in 2017 - has taken on added significance.
"You're a great leader, sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway," Trump told Xi after the Chinese leader treated him to a grand reception at Beijing's imposing Great Hall of the People, featuring an honour guard and throngs of children excitedly waving flowers and U.S. and China flags.
"There are those who say this may be the biggest summit ever," Trump said. "It's an honour to be with you. It's an honour to be your friend and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before," he added.
Xi opened the summit by telling Trump that stable China–U.S. relationship benefits the entire world. "When we cooperate, both sides benefit; when we confront each other, both sides suffer."
He also said preparatory talks by economic and trade teams in South Korea on Wednesday had reached an "overall balanced and positive outcome", according to a readout by China's state-run Xinhua news agency.
The latest round of negotiations aimed to maintain the trade truce struck last October and establish mechanisms to support future trade and investment, officials with knowledge of the matter said.
Joining Trump on the trip are a group of CEOs looking to resolve issues with China, including Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, a late addition. Trump has said his first request to Xi will be to "open up" China to U.S. industry.
Musk, Huang and Apple's Tim Cook were present during the opening talks between the leaders, with Musk telling reporters they were "wonderful" as he left the Great Hall.
This week's leaders meetings will provide plenty of face time between Xi and Trump: after their initial talks, they will tour the UNESCO heritage site Temple of Heaven and attend a state banquet on Thursday, before taking tea and lunch together on Friday, according to the White House.
The power dynamics have changed since Trump's last visit to Beijing when China went out of its way to lavish Trump and buy billions in U.S. goods, said Ali Wyne, senior adviser for U.S.-China relations at International Crisis Group.
Back then "China was trying to persuade the United States of its growing status... This time around it's the United States, unprompted, of its own volition, that is acknowledging that status," Wyne said, pointing out Trump revived the term 'G2', referring to a superpower duo, when he last met Xi on the sidelines of an APEC meeting in South Korea in October.
Trump enters the talks with a weakened hand.
U.S. courts have hemmed in his ability to levy tariffs at will on exports from China and other countries. The Iran war has also boosted inflation at home and escalated the risk that Trump's Republican Party will lose control of one or both legislative branches in November's midterm elections.
Though the Chinese economy has faltered, Xi does not face comparable economic or political pressure.
Nevertheless, both sides are eager to maintain a trade truce struck last October in which Trump suspended triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods and Xi backed away from choking global supplies of rare earths, vital in making items from electric cars to weapons.
They are also expected to discuss forums to support mutual trade and investment and dialogue on artificial intelligence (AI) issues.
Washington looks to sell Boeing airplanes, farm goods and energy to China to cut a trade deficit that has long irked Trump, while Beijing wants the U.S. to ease curbs on exports of chipmaking equipment and advanced semiconductors, officials involved in the planning said.
Aside from trade matters, Trump is expected to encourage China to convince Iran to make a deal with Washington to end the conflict. But analysts doubt that Xi will be willing to push Tehran hard or end support for its military, given Iran's value to Beijing as a strategic counterweight to the U.S.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News aboard Air Force One that it was in China's interest to help resolve the crisis as many of its ships are stuck in the Gulf and a slowdown in the global economy would hurt Chinese exporters.
For Xi, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by China, will be a top priority.
China reiterated on Wednesday its strong opposition to the sales, with the status of a $14-billion package awaiting Trump's approval still unclear. The U.S. is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties.
"Trump doesn't really have that many of the cards to play. But I don't think that Trump actually sees the situation that way," said Ronan Fu, an assistant research fellow at Taiwan's top government think tank Academia Sinica.
Xi has a reciprocal visit tentatively planned for later this year, which would be his first visit to the United States since Trump re-took office in 2025.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections into "infinity, despite Tehran's denials, and that unfrozen Iranian asset...
Bangladesh has called for increased climate financing and faster delivery of support to vulnerable nations, arguing that current global funding commit...
Apple is facing a £3 billion lawsuit in the United Kingdom after a competition tribunal approved a major collective action over its iCloud storage se...
Iran has strengthened ties with regional partners and agreed a roadmap for technical talks with the U.S. aimed at securing a final peace agreement wit...
Belgium has issued 24-hour visas to a Taliban delegation attending European Union migration talks in Brussels, as EU member states explore ways to ret...
U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections into "infinity, despite Tehran's denials, and that unfrozen Iranian assets would be used to buy humanitarian supplies from the United States.
Bangladesh has called for increased climate financing and faster delivery of support to vulnerable nations, arguing that current global funding commitments fall far short of what developing countries need to tackle the growing impacts of climate change.
Apple is facing a £3 billion lawsuit in the United Kingdom after a competition tribunal approved a major collective action over its iCloud storage service.
Iran has strengthened ties with regional partners and agreed a roadmap for technical talks with the U.S. aimed at securing a final peace agreement within two months.
At least thirteen people have died and sixty-six have been injured following an explosion at Qatar's main liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing hub at Ras Laffan, authorities said on Sunday.
Tehran has agreed to let the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommence inspections of its nuclear programme, U.S. Vice President JD Vance has said. The U.S. and Iran have settled on a 60-day roadmap aimed at reaching a final deal, according to mediators Qatar and Pakistan.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on a landmark internet deal that will allow traffic to pass through Azerbaijani networks.It's the latest deal to highlight the ongoing peace process between the two countries.
A Ukrainian strike has damaged a school building in a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, according to local authorities cited by the TASS news agency. No injuries were reported in the incident.
Three students have been killed and at least seven injured after two of their peers opened fire in a high school in the Philippines, police said. A spokesperson for the police said the two suspects, aged 14 and 15, had been arrested and a police pistol confiscated. Bullying is a possible motive.
Bangladesh has called for increased climate financing and faster delivery of support to vulnerable nations, arguing that current global funding commitments fall far short of what developing countries need to tackle the growing impacts of climate change.
Apple is facing a £3 billion lawsuit in the United Kingdom after a competition tribunal approved a major collective action over its iCloud storage service.
Amnesty International has accused the European Union of being complicit in human rights abuses after authorities in eastern and western Libya intensified a crackdown on migrants and refugees through mass arrests, detentions and expulsions.
Belgium has issued 24-hour visas to a Taliban delegation attending European Union migration talks in Brussels, as EU member states explore ways to return some Afghans convicted of serious crimes or considered security threats.
Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of Scotland's governing Scottish National Party (SNP), has been jailed for five years and three months after admitting to embezzling more than £400,000 from the party over a 13-year period
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment