Chinese President Xi Jinping ended a state visit to the United States on Friday that resulted in the extension of the trade truce between the world’s two largest economies until January 2027, as well as an agreement with US President Donald Trump to continue meeting.
Regional disagreements accompany truce extension
At the same time, the two sides disagreed over Beijing’s support for Tehran, while also discussing artificial intelligence, Taiwan, the war on Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Xi’s visit to Washington lasted from Wednesday to Friday and was his first to the US capital since 2015.
Trump described his talks with his Chinese counterpart as “very productive” for the United States and China, saying the two countries had made “progress” and that important developments would take place in the future, but he gave no details about their nature. Xi, for his part, called for competition between the two countries to be managed peacefully, with areas of cooperation expanded while differences were contained.
He said Washington and Beijing must turn the concept of “strategic stability” into practical steps based on managing differences and containing competition, announcing that he and Trump had agreed to build a constructive relationship founded on strategic stability and reciprocity.
Washington and Beijing diverge over Iran
During the visit, the Chinese president reaffirmed his country’s positions on issues the two sides described as sensitive, including Taiwan, artificial intelligence and the war on Iran. On Iran, Trump said any Chinese support for Tehran was “completely unacceptable”, signalling continued divergence between Washington and Beijing despite the understandings announced in trade-related areas.
Trump told reporters he had discussed the war on Iran with Xi, expressing optimism that “great results” could be achieved on the issue. He added that excellent progress had been made on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, one of the international issues raised during the presidents’ talks.
Regarding China’s position on Iran, US Ambassador to Beijing David Perdue said in an interview with Fox News that Washington had received assurances from China. He was responding to a question about whether Beijing would stop helping Tehran, without disclosing the content of those assurances or the measures they covered.
Artificial intelligence at centre of technological competition
Artificial intelligence featured in the talks as one of the main areas of technological competition between the United States and China. During the discussion, Trump proposed using the term “superintelligence” instead of “artificial intelligence” and said Xi was receptive to the suggestion. The US president believes the new term reflects the speed at which the technology is developing.
Xi said China and the United States, as major powers in artificial intelligence, could cooperate in the field while also competing. He stressed that artificial intelligence must remain under human control and that an approach placing people at the centre of its development and use should be adopted, ensuring the technology serves humanity.
The two presidents showed a desire to preserve an understanding between their countries on artificial intelligence safety, despite no major achievements being recorded on the issue during the visit. The discussions came amid escalating technological competition between Washington and Beijing, including previous US restrictions on the technology sector.
Trade truce extended until 2027 as next steps outlined
On trade, Xi announced that the two countries had agreed to extend the trade truce until January 2027, following economic and trade consultations between US and Chinese delegations. He said the delegations had reached an understanding on new trade arrangements, describing it as “good news” for the peoples and industrial sectors of both countries, as well as for the global economy.
The Chinese president said that stable bilateral trade relations required expanding areas of cooperation and reducing contentious issues. The truce extension followed a period of escalating trade disputes, as the Trump administration increased tariffs and imposed restrictions on the technology sector, while China moved to control rare earth minerals, of which Beijing supplies a large share of global supplies.
At the end of the visit, Trump and Xi agreed to continue their meetings in the coming months. The Chinese president said he expected to hold two further meetings with his US counterpart during the current year: the first in China in November and the second in the United States on the sidelines of the G20 summit scheduled for December.
Xi invited Trump and his wife, Melania, to attend the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, APEC, due to be held in the Chinese city of Shenzhen in November. The US president, in turn, confirmed that he would meet Xi in China during the same month, as part of the continued contacts agreed by the two sides after the Washington talks.
