Washington (United States) (AFP) – Donald Trump will host Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday for a day full of pageantry, as the US president sought to set the agenda by saying that both sides agreed no new controls were needed on fast-evolving AI technology. Trump personally greeted Xi on the tarmac on Wednesday, the first time in more than six decades that a US president has welcomed a foreign political leader at Joint Base Andrews near Washington.
He will lay on more pomp and ceremony Thursday, treating his guest to a formal welcome on the White House South Lawn, a military flyover, talks in the Oval Office, and finally a grand state banquet. “Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is,” Trump said on social media, using his new moniker for artificial intelligence. “That is China’s position also.” In another post, Trump said 73-year-old Xi looked “strong, vibrant, and fit,” following recent rumors about the Chinese leader’s health.
But the warm welcome masks deep tensions over thorny topics including the trade war between the world’s top two economies, and Beijing’s diplomatic and economic support for Iran. Xi urged cooperation in comments reported by Chinese state media shortly after his arrival, saying that China and the United States should be “partners rather than rivals.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday announced a two-month extension of a trade truce that was due to expire in November. Both sides are keen to avoid plunging back into the trade war sparked by the US president’s sweeping global tariffs last year. But while Trump, 80, boasts that he will get results from what he calls his “great relationship” with Xi — the latest in a series of authoritarian leaders he has befriended — few breakthroughs are expected. Instead, their third meeting since Trump returned to power is aimed at maintaining the broader detente.
Xi’s first White House state visit in more than a decade will therefore be more about spectacle than substance. The program includes a military inspection in the Rose Garden — which Trump recently paved over — and a gift-giving ceremony involving Trump’s wife Melania and Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan. Trump and Xi will make remarks in the morning and again in the evening, though it remains unclear if there will be an opportunity for reporters to put questions to the two leaders.
The state dinner will feature a host of top US tech and AI company bosses — although Xi’s delegation includes no CEOs, sources told AFP. Trump and Melania met the Chinese presidential couple on a red carpet at Joint Base Andrews, before a military band played the national anthems and US bombers roared overhead. “I thought it was a great little meeting, a great greeting, and I think they appreciate it,” Trump told reporters — brushing off the fact that Xi had not welcomed him at the airport for his Beijing state visit in May.
Trump confirmed that his stalled Iran war would be discussed, despite earlier playing down reports that Beijing was giving Tehran intelligence. “I’ll be talking about that and many other subjects — but it’s all coming along well,” Trump said. Artificial intelligence is a key focus due to growing fears that it is out of control and even risks wiping out humanity as China and the United States race for supremacy in the field. Taiwan will also be on the cards, with Trump’s words likely to be watched for any sign of diminishing US support for the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory.
Xi’s visit will wrap up on Friday morning when the two presidential couples have tea at the White House and then visit the National Archives, home to the US Declaration of Independence.
© 2024 AFP
