US-China: Trump and Xi Jinping face trade, Taiwan and artificial intelligence issues

United States President Donald Trump welcomed his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to the White House on Thursday as part of a state visit.

The meeting focused on strategic relations between the two countries, trade and the development of artificial intelligence. The talks also addressed Taiwan, the risk of confrontations and cooperation between Washington and Beijing.

The United States and China have agreed to extend their trade truce agreement by two months.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the extension gives the parties additional time to continue economic negotiations. The agreement, which ended last year’s trade war, was expected to expire in November.

However, some of the main disputes remain unresolved. These include tariffs, Chinese purchases, the supply of rare minerals and technology-related restrictions.

According to Bessent, China is fulfilling its commitment to purchase 25 million tons of soybeans. At the same time, he said Beijing had not fully fulfilled its promise to buy $17 billion worth of other U.S. agricultural products.

U.S. officials have also said that Chinese supplies of rare minerals are not being delivered at the anticipated level.

Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington was accompanied by a special ceremony on the White House grounds. Military troops in historical uniforms paraded in its gardens, while the event included music and flyovers by military aircraft.

Trump and Xi later held talks in the Oval Office. When reporters asked Trump about his meeting with the Chinese president, he replied briefly: “Great meeting.” He also referred to Xi’s appreciation of granite.

Taiwan was another important topic of discussion. China’s official news agency reported that Xi asked Washington to handle the Taiwan issue “with care.” He also expressed hope that the United States would oppose Taiwan’s independence.

Such a position would be stronger than Washington’s traditional wording, which has stated that it does not “support” Taiwan’s independence. The White House did not immediately issue an official statement on this part of the talks.

During the meeting, the Chinese president also spoke about the concept known as the “Thucydides Trap.” The academic term refers to the risk of conflict between a rising power and an established power.

Xi said this risk could be overcome, while stressing the need for cooperation between China and the United States. He also warned of the consequences that a confrontation between the two countries could bring.

The Chinese president called for the development of regular military dialogue and the creation of stronger mechanisms for preventing crises.

Trump, for his part, emphasized the shared history of the two states and mentioned the American-Chinese alliance against Japan during World War II.

Artificial intelligence was also on the agenda, although the two presidents presented differing views on how it should be managed.

Trump has argued that the development of artificial intelligence should not be hindered by new restrictive regulations. In his view, the United States should trust the Department of Justice, while he has claimed that China holds the same position.

Xi said that the United States and China, as two of the leading countries in the field of artificial intelligence, bear responsibility for managing this technology.

He stressed that the development of artificial intelligence should remain under human control and be used to serve people’s well-being.

Leaders of major technology companies were also expected to attend the state dinner held at the White House in honor of Xi Jinping.

Those expected among the guests included Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.