Working towards forging better future, says Trump; Let’s race, not wrestle: Xi 

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks at the White House on Thursday on AI, trade, Iran and Taiwan. Trump said the two nations could build a better future, while Xi called for cooperation and avoiding confrontation.

Washington: US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping held talks on a range of issues, including artificial intelligence, the Iran war and market access for farmers, with the host vowing to work towards forging a better future for the two nations.

After the ceremonial welcome at the South Portico of the White House, brief opening remarks and a military review in the Rose Garden, Trump and Xi, along with their respective delegations, were in the Oval Office for substantive talks.

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“We had a great meeting,” Trump told reporters as he took Xi for a walk on the new helipad at the South Lawn of the White House and the under-construction Ballroom.

The two leaders were also seen walking to the Marine One helicopter and boarding the chopper and exiting after a while.  President Xi departed at 1:29 pm local time with Trump waving to him as he entered the car.  Earlier, Trump said he and Xi have forged a “truly great friendship” since his first election in 2016, built on mutual respect and the vital interest of our people.

“Just as our people worked together to win that war, President Xi and I will continue working together to forge a better future for both of our nations, ” Trump said in brief opening remarks at the White House, recalling America’s role in World War II.

No major US TV network aired live footage of the Trump and Xi meeting or the ceremonies at the White House.  In his opening remarks, Xi said he was visiting the US at President Trump’s invitation to carry on our friendship, expand cooperation, and promote the well-being of both our peoples.  “We should coexist in peace. As I have said many times, China and the United States, as two major countries, stand to gain from cooperation and will both lose in confrontation,” Xi said in the remarks delivered at the ceremony in the Grand Foyer of the White House.

He said the two countries should avoid the  Thucydides Trap,  the theory that a rising power and an established power are likely to go to war.

“We do not need to avoid mentioning competition, but our competition should be a healthy one, and should be kept within bounds. It should be a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which when either wins, or loses,” Xi said.

“China and the US must hold the line of no conflict and no confrontation between us. We can certainly find the right path for our two great countries to get along on this planet. Our two militaries should maintain regular dialogue and improve mechanisms for crisis communication and prevention. The Thucydides Trap can be overcome,” he said.

Xi touched on artificial intelligence in his opening comments, saying that the two countries had a responsibility to ensure that humans always operate AI.

“We have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good and ensure that the development of AI is always under human control and serves the well-being of the people,” Xi said.

According to Chinese media, Xi urged Trump to translate the vision of a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability into action.

He also reiterated the red line over the issue of Taiwan and hoped the US side would adhere to the correct position of opposing “Taiwan independence,” and handle the question with prudence to lay a solid foundation for bilateral strategic cooperation and the development of China-US ties.

Xi also said China’s position on safeguarding its national unity and territorial integrity is crystal clear.

US First Lady Melania and China’s first lady Peng Liyuan toured the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.

Earlier, Trump and the First Lady Melania greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the South Portico of the White House as a military band played. The Chinese leader arrived in a black SUV Hongqi (“Red Flag”) N701, an equivalent of the Beast used by the US President.

The two couples stood together briefly on a red carpet before heading inside.

The two countries’ finance ministers met earlier this week, with the US proposing a new notification mechanism for AI incidents between the two nations.

Ahead of the Trump-Xi Summit meeting, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the two sides had come to terms on extending the trade truce, forged last year in South Korea.  He said it is possible that Trump and Xi could come to a larger agreement by January or just decide to once again extend it further.

Peak baseline US tariffs reached 145 per cent during last year’s trade battle — matched by China’s reciprocal levies of 125 per cent.  After Trump and Xi met in South Korea last year, the average US tariff rate fell to roughly 47 per cent, while China charged an average in the mid-30s.

But in February, the US Supreme Court overturned many of Trump’s tariffs, causing taxes on Chinese goods to have more variation.