Trump and Xi wrap up US state visit, stress harmony over confrontation
Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States concluded Friday with both leaders emphasizing harmony, though details of their closed-door talks remain undisclosed.
Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded his highly anticipated state visit to the United States on Friday, while specifics of his talks with President Donald Trump on several sensitive issues remain unclear. Xi had described the dynamic between the two powers as "healthy competition."
The two leaders spent 90 minutes together behind closed doors on Thursday. According to China's official readout, their discussion covered the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula. The White House has not disclosed details of the private meeting, including whether any progress was made on trade or artificial intelligence safety — both flagged beforehand as key discussion topics.
A show of unity
Both sides chose to project an image of cooperation between the world's two biggest economies. On Friday, Trump brought Xi to the National Archives, home to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, saying he wanted to share "some of the greatest treasures" of American history along with artifacts reflecting the long relationship between the two nations, noting that ancestors on both sides once crossed the ocean to trade and learn from each other.
On Thursday evening, Trump and the First Lady hosted a black-tie state dinner for Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, attended largely by American technology and business executives, with fewer counterparts from China. In his toast, Trump acknowledged that the two nations represent different systems but said relations between their peoples have never been stronger. Xi, in his toast, noted that Trump has pledged to make America great again while China remains committed to national rejuvenation.
Guests included Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Dell's Michael Dell, Google's Sundar Pichai, and LVMH chief Bernard Arnault. Trump presented Xi with an eagle statue he said he helped design with Melania Trump, who also helped craft the dinner menu, featuring sesame-crusted sea bass, braised bok choy and roasted eggplant.
