Donald Trump rolls out red carpet for Xi as US and China negotiate trade, artificial intelligence and rare earths | Today’s news
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for cooperation with Washington and Beijing when he arrived in the US capital for a state visit. “Our two countries should be partners rather than rivals,” Xi said in written remarks published by state news agency Xinhua, adding that “the Chinese and American peoples enjoy long-term friendly exchanges and our interests are deeply intertwined.”
Xi is welcomed by Trump
Xi arrived in Washington on Wednesday to receive a rare greeting from Trump on a plane as the leaders of the world’s two largest economies pursue key deals on trade, artificial intelligence and rare earths. Trade, along with artificial intelligence, has been one of the biggest flashpoints between the two superpowers.
According to the Associated Press, a 100-foot-long red carpet was unrolled at the bottom of the staircase located near the door of Sin’s plane. A 21-strong honor guard lined the sides of the carpet, and Trump and First Lady Melania Trump stood near the staircase on the side of the plane, where they greeted Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, with a handshake. Part of the welcoming ceremony was a flyover by two B-1 bombers, squads from each military service and the presentation of the flags and anthems of both countries.
The AFP report added that there were no Chinese CEOs in Xi’s delegation, two sources told AFP, despite the fact that top US tech bosses, including leaders of major artificial intelligence companies, are due to attend a state banquet at the White House on Thursday.
Ahead of Xi’s arrival in Washington, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced an extension of the truce, under which the countries agreed to lower tariffs and refrain from imposing new trade restrictions. The truce, which took effect last year, came after Trump struck a deal with Xi Jinping.
The deal saw both sides agree to reduce tit-for-tat tariffs and extend some tariff exemptions for the United States.
“I don’t know if a bigger deal can be done. I don’t know if we’re just going to scrap the current deal,” Bessent said in an interview with Fox News.
Xi’s visit to the US comes at a time when the world is divided over the development of AI. While several tech leaders and politicians across party lines in the U.S. have called for slowing the development of artificial intelligence and putting in more safeguards, Trump has dismissed the warning. Trump also claimed that AI security warnings were a “hoax” and that forcing an industry-wide slowdown would give China a major technological advantage.
Beijing, which still faces export controls that have effectively blocked its access to Nvidia’s latest chipsets, has also rejected calls to slow AI development, saying it was a tactic designed to maintain US technological dominance amid growing competition from cheap open source alternatives from Chinese tech companies.
