Monitoring desk
US President Donald Trump extended an imperial-style welcome to Chinese President Xi Jinping,
personally going to the airport to greet him ahead of their summit. Xi reciprocated the gesture but once again appeared “stiff,” responding with remarks that maintained his own firm stance. The world is watching to see what results Trump’s effort to placate China and Xi’s determination to speak frankly to the United States will produce at the leaders’ meeting between the two countries. The summit, scheduled to take place at the White House on the 24th (local time), is expected to address the trade war, semiconductors, rare earths and Taiwan.
Trump arrived by helicopter at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on the 23rd, before Xi’s private aircraft landed, and waited for more than an hour in his private car. When Xi stepped off the aircraft stairs, Trump walked up to the bottom of the stairs to shake his hand. This was the first time Trump had gone to an airport to welcome a foreign leader since beginning his second term. Melania Trump also joined him to greet Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan. The two leaders are meeting for the second time this year, four months after their summit in Beijing in May.
Xi returned to the White House for the first time in 11 years since his state visit in September 2015 during the Barack Obama administration. High-ranking Chinese officials, including Politburo Standing Committee member Cai Qi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, accompanied the delegation.
A separate official welcome ceremony will be held again at the White House on the 24th. The event, taking place on the South Lawn and in the White House Rose Garden, will feature 479 service members representing all branches of the U.S. military. One B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and four F-22 Raptor fighter jets will conduct a ceremonial flyover. Formal talks and a state dinner in the East Room will follow. The dinner is expected to be attended by leaders of major U.S. technology companies, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang.
Unlike the cordial reception, sharp clashes are expected during the main summit. After completing the airport welcome, Trump returned to the White House and made clear the key issues to be discussed. He stressed that the talks would focus on Iran, blocking the flow of fentanyl into the United States and additional tariffs on China. The two sides are still expected to remain far apart on advanced technology. The United States is seeking a stable supply of critical minerals, including rare earths, while China is strongly demanding that Washington ease its semiconductor export controls.
In the field of artificial intelligence, the two sides are expected to discuss establishing a hotline through which they would notify each other when an incident occurs. The idea is to prevent accidental clashes while allowing competition to continue, although specific operating procedures have not yet been determined. Taiwan is another variable. Since Trump’s remarks on Taiwan also sparked controversy at the Beijing summit in May, attention is focused on how the two sides will address the issue this time.
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