China’s Xi Jinping called for Washington. Beijing to be “partners not rivals” as two days of talks with US President Donald Trump kicked off on Thursday.
The day began with Xi welcoming US President Trump with a handshake at the opulent Great Hall of the People.
Accompanied by Trump, Xi shook hands with several US officials, including Pentagon Peter Hegseth. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was known throughout his career as a fierce opponent of Beijing.
Trump. Xi stood in the centre as a Chinese military band playedThe Star-Spangled Bannerand then the Chinese national anthem as cannons fired.
Jumping schoolchildren in brightly coloured outfits waving US. Chinese flags chanted “welcome, welcome” as Trump and Xi walked past them in the square.
“You’re a great leader, sometimes people don’t like me saying it,. I say it anyway,” Trump later told Xi as they sat across from each other, flanked by their delegations.
“There are those who say this may be the biggest summit ever … It’s an honour to be with you. It’s an honour to be your friend. the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before,” Trump said.
For his part, the Chinese president said the two countries should be “partners and not rivals”.
“A stable China-US relationship is a boon for the world. Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both. We should be partners and not rivals,” Xi said.
Xi added he was “happy” to receive Trump for the US leader’s first trip to China since 2017 as “the world has arrived at a new crossroads”.
The two leaders will also enjoy a state banquet at the hall in the evening,. Trump will visit the historic Temple of Heaven, a World Heritage site where China’s emperors once prayed for a good harvest.
The US president arrived for the two-day summit on Air Force One late on Wednesday accompanied by top CEOs, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. Tesla’s Elon Musk — symbols of business deals Trump hopes to reach.
The trip to Beijing marks the first by a US president in nearly a decade. after Trump visited in 2017, accompanied — unlike this time — by his wife Melania.
Top of Trump’s wish list will be business deals on agriculture, aircraft. other topics, with a host of top businessmen in the US leader’s delegation.
Aboard Air Force One en route to Beijing. Trump vowed on social media to push Xi to “open up” China to US firms “so that these brilliant people can work their magic”.
But Trump is dealing with a different. more emboldened China to the one he visited nine years ago, with a host of unresolved trade and geopolitical tensions between the two countries.
The Iran war in particular has threatened to weaken Trump’s position in talks with Xi. having already forced him to postpone it from March.
The US president said he expected a “long talk” with Xi about Iran, which sells most of its US-sanctioned oil to China,. insisted that “I don’t think we need any help with Iran” from Beijing.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a somewhat different tone.
“We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they are doing now,. trying to do now in the Persian Gulf,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told broadcasterFox Newsin an interview aired Wednesday.
The long-simmering trade war between the two countries will also be top of the agenda. after Trump’s sweeping tariffs last year triggered tit-for-tat levies that exceeded 100 percent.
Trump. Xi are set to discuss extending a one-year tariff truce, which the two leaders reached during their last meeting in South Korea in October, although a deal is far from certain.
On Taiwan. another issue that has bedevilled ties, Trump said on Monday he would speak to Xi about US arms sales to the self-governing democracy claimed by China.
That would be a departure from historic US insistence that it will not consult Beijing on its support for the island,. one which will be closely watched by Taipei and US allies in the region.
China’s controls on rare earth exports, AI rivalry. the countries’ raucous trade relationship are also among the topics expected to be taken up by the two heads of state.
Both sides will be looking to come out of the summit with whatever wins they can, while also stabilising an often tense relationship between Beijing. Washington that has global implications.
Trump will also be hoping to leave with a firm date for a reciprocal visit by Xi to the United States later in 2026. to prove his rapport with his Chinese counterpart.
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