Chinese leader Xi Jinping ended his first formal trip to Washington in 11 years Friday, and the result was a state visit built on ceremony, military display and a trade truce that keeps the machinery of power humming while ordinary people get the bill. President Donald Trump gave Xi a rare airport tarmac greeting, the two leaders held a state dinner and tea with their spouses, and they visited the National Archives. The summit produced few concrete agreements.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the U.S. and China agreed to continue their soon-to-expire trade truce until Jan. 10, a two-month extension of the agreement inked last year. That truce, struck after Trump and Xi met in Busan, South Korea, lowered U.S. tariffs and suspended Beijing’s controls on exports of rare earths and critical minerals, among other provisions. Xi said there was a "new joint arrangement" on bilateral trade, according to Beijing’s readout of his meeting with Trump, though he did not specify a date.
Who Gets Managed, Who Gets the Spotlight
Many had expected a longer, six-month extension, but the shorter time frame could give both sides leverage in future talks. That’s the language of rulers bargaining over leverage, not people deciding what happens to them. Trump and Xi are expected to meet twice more this year, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November and at the G20 in Miami in December. The calendar keeps moving. The pressure stays on everyone below.
The summit produced no public promises of purchases or agreement on addressing artificial intelligence risks, the war in Iran or other world challenges. Trump said in a Truth Social post before Xi arrived at the White House, "I want to leave it exactly where it is," referring to AI. "That is China's position also." Xi later said the U.S. and China 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." He also said the two countries should cooperate on AI.
The Rulers Talk About Control
Xi said on arrival at the White House, according to the Chinese side’s official readout, that "The Thucydides Trap can be overcome." That contrasted with his rhetorical question when the pair met in May in Beijing about whether the two countries could avoid the Thucydides Trap, a term referring to how tensions between a rising and ruling power have often resulted in war. Xi said Thursday the two countries can have "healthy" competition without confrontation. "It should be a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which one either wins or loses," he said. Cui Shoujun, a professor at Renmin University of China’s School of International Studies, said in Chinese, translated by CNBC, that establishing a bottom line on competing intensely without military conflict was the "most significant political outcome" of the summit. "This injected certainty into the volatile bilateral relationship," he said.
Trump’s comments upon Xi’s arrival emphasized general collaboration. The U.S. president has yet to comment on Taiwan around this summit, despite Xi calling on the U.S. to "oppose 'Taiwan independence,'" according to Beijing’s readout of the two presidents’ talks on Thursday. China’s readout also noted that Trump and Xi discussed the Middle East situation, without mentioning the Iran war. Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy for the Middle East, said at an event Friday in Singapore that "the Middle East situation was a big issue in the leaders' discussion that just took place, and the consensus they reached there will be critical to cooling the temperature in the conflict."
Ceremony for the Powerful, Access for the Chosen
The visit was marked by elaborate ceremony. A red carpet was rolled out to Xi’s plane on the Joint Base Andrews tarmac, and another appeared at the White House as his motorcade arrived at the South Portico. Trump and first lady Melania Trump waited for Xi at the airport stairs upon his arrival. It was Trump’s first time traveling to the base to welcome a foreign leader. The summit included synchronized military displays, with service members performing music, raising flags and rifles and marching in formation. In the newly paved-over Rose Garden, Xi and Trump stood for a military review that included a rooftop performance from the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets and demonstrations from the Army’s Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, as well as the Marines’ Silent Drill Platoon and its Drum and Bugle Corps. Service members also conducted low flyovers Wednesday and Thursday. The first drew a flinch from Trump, while Xi had no reaction.
After a private bilateral meeting midday Thursday, Trump gave Xi a tour of the newly built helipad installed outside the White House. "He loves good granite," Trump said of Xi as the leaders passed reporters en route to the helipad, where they toured the presidential helicopter. Ryan Hass, director of the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center, said, "Trump has taken the pageantry further than most of his predecessors." He added, "The portion of the day devoted to substantive discussion is smaller than the amount of time both leaders will spend on ceremonial affairs."
The summit also unfolded amid a dispute over White House press access. Major television networks did not air the military choreography because of a now-ended suspension of so-called TV pool coverage of the White House, implemented in solidarity with MS NOW, CNN and Politico, whom Trump banned last week over what he said was harmful reporting. A federal judge ordered the White House to restore access to the three outlets for up to two weeks, while casting doubt on the government’s claim that the ban was a matter of national security. Despite the ruling, some journalists from all three outlets were barred from entering the White House on Thursday morning, even as Chinese state media outlets were granted entry. Access was fully restored later Thursday, the Trump administration said in a court filing. Trump later complained on Truth Social that the moment was "Actually made for Television."