US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed during a summit at the White House on Thursday to extend the trade truce between their countries by two months, without major breakthroughs on artificial intelligence, Taiwan or the war on Iran. The talks came amid mutual assurances that competition between the world’s two largest economies should be managed and prevented from turning into direct conflict.
Before the talks began, Xi said China and the United States must ensure they did not “enter into conflict or confrontation with each other”. Trump, meanwhile, spoke of a “great friendship” between himself and the Chinese president. His remarks during the visit took on a friendly tone, reflecting his efforts to win Xi’s favour despite deep-running tensions between the two countries.
After the talks, Xi announced at a formal White House dinner that he and Trump had reached a common understanding on a range of issues. He said the two sides had held candid and in-depth discussions and agreed to establish a “constructive and stable strategic relationship between the two countries”, without disclosing further details about most of the understandings.
The Chinese president added that Beijing and Washington should explore a new approach allowing major powers to coexist well, urging the two countries to act as responsible superpowers. The summit was significant as it was the third meeting between the presidents since Trump returned to the Oval Office, and Xi’s first visit to the White House in more than 10 years.
Trade truce extended by two months
The summit’s main practical outcome was the extension of the trade truce by two months, keeping it in place until 10 January. Washington and Beijing reached an economic truce last year that ended a reciprocal dispute during which China used export controls on rare earths in response to tariffs imposed by Trump.
Beijing had hoped to extend the truce, which was due to expire in November, until the end of Trump’s term, but the two sides ultimately agreed to only two additional months. Xi described the new trade arrangement with the United States as “good news for the global economy”. US officials, meanwhile, complain about China’s level of compliance with the truce’s terms, according to the British magazine The Economist.
China’s commitments included halting the flow of chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, which causes tens of thousands of deaths in the United States, as well as increasing Beijing’s purchases of US soybeans.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would use the truce extension to press Beijing to implement its commitments in a “more complete and comprehensive” manner. He added that Washington was also considering a “larger” agreement proposed by China, as the two sides continue trying to prevent a return to trade escalation.
The extension is not a final settlement of the trade disputes so much as a reflection of both sides’ desire to keep channels of negotiation open. Experts say Washington and Beijing understand that a return to a tariff war could cause inflation and unemployment, prompting them to pursue a “tactical accommodation” at this stage. Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London, said Beijing regarded the truce extension as a sufficient success for the visit.
Riley Walters, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said the scenario provided short-term strategic stability and allowed China to continue buying US agricultural products and aircraft, while vital rare earths continued to be supplied to the United States.
Welcome ceremony and diplomatic understandings
Alongside trade, the official Xinhua News Agency reported that Trump and Xi agreed to support each other in hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, known as APEC, as well as the G20 summit in 2026. The talks were preceded by an extensive welcome ceremony that began with the Chinese president’s arrival.
Trump personally welcomed Xi at the airport on Wednesday, the first time in more than six decades that a US president had personally received a foreign head of state at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington. The visit continued on Thursday with an official ceremony and a handshake on the White House South Lawn, along with a military flypast.
US military aircraft carried out a ceremonial flypast, including a B-2 bomber of the type that bombed Iranian nuclear facilities last year, while the American and Chinese flags were raised above the White House West Wing. Trump said during the summit: “President Xi and I, working together, have made tremendous progress on the issues facing our two countries.”
He added that the visit would also address “urgent issues involving security, technology and superintelligence”, the term he has come to use when discussing artificial intelligence. Xi said the two countries encouraged their institutions to strengthen communication in foreign affairs, the economy, financial cooperation and law enforcement.
He also announced his support for increased exchanges between China’s and the United States’ legislative bodies, and invited 100,000 young Americans to visit China to study over the next five years. Despite the ceremonial welcome, the summit produced no major breakthroughs, according to Agence France-Presse, as it was dominated by protocol and celebrations while the two countries sought to manage their competition.
The welcome drew criticism from US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who compared it with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Alaska last year. Schumer said in a speech on the Senate floor, referring to Trump: “This man has an innate affinity for dictators,” adding: “There is something genuinely wrong with him.”
Artificial intelligence and the technology race
Artificial intelligence was one of the summit’s most sensitive topics amid intensifying technological competition between Washington and Beijing. While Trump has repeatedly played down concerns that artificial intelligence could become a threat to humanity, Xi adopted a more cautious position on developing and managing the technology.
We have both the ability and the responsibility to develop and manage artificial intelligence in a way that serves the public interest, and to ensure that its development always remains under human oversight
Some US AI safety advocates had hoped the presidents would reach an agreement strengthening oversight of AI models, or even slowing the pace of their development. Others urged Trump to pressure China over AI “distillation”, a method that uses the output of one model to develop another and improve its performance. The two countries are fiercely competing in this field while recognising the growing potential risks.
Taiwan and the war on Iran
The United States proposed establishing a new notification mechanism with China, allowing either side to alert the other to any AI-related incident that could threaten national security. On political and security issues, Xi urged his US counterpart to exercise “caution” over Taiwan’s independence, referring to the self-governing island that China considers part of its territory.
He said Beijing’s position on protecting its national unity and territorial integrity was “as clear as daylight”. The Trump administration approved an $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan last December, the largest deal of its kind ever.
A second package worth about $14 billion has remained pending for months, while Trump has previously described arms deals as “a very effective bargaining chip”. Xi also raised the war on Iran, urging Trump to end it “through negotiations as soon as possible” and work towards a comprehensive agreement covering the nuclear issue and achieving peace.
Reports had said China provided Iran with intelligence during the war launched by the United States and Israel. Xinhua quoted Xi as saying that China had “always stressed the need to respect the sovereignty and security of all countries” and had played a constructive role in easing tensions and encouraging negotiations. The Chinese president also expressed his country’s support for the United States and Iran returning to the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.
Experts believe China will not intervene for free to restore stability or extricate Washington from its military predicament with Iran, arguing that the depletion of US resources gives Beijing a geopolitical advantage it may surrender only in return for concessions including greater flexibility on technology restrictions and lower tariffs.
Two days before the summit, Elbridge Colby, the policy official at the US Department of War, the Pentagon, said on 23 September that his country’s aim in Asia was to secure a “decent peace” guaranteeing freedom of trade, adding that the United States would show a “respectful posture towards Beijing”. Colby added that it was not a bad thing for each side to believe it had the upper hand over time, urging the relationship to be managed within a framework of “vigorous competition that does not lead to a major war”.
The call is consistent with the message Xi delivered during the visit about preventing competition between the two powers from turning into confrontation.
