Beijing:
US President Donald Trump called his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping a ‘great leader’ and spoke of a ‘fantastic future’ with China as the two leaders began a high-stakes summit in Beijing. In his opening remarks ahead of bilaterals, Trump said it was an “honour” to meet and call the Chinese president his “friend”.
Presidents Xi and Trump were meeting in Beijing for a US-China summit where few breakthroughs are expected on divisive issues ranging from the Iran war, trade, technology and Taiwan.
“We’ve gotten along. When there were difficulties, we worked it out. I would call you and you would call me. People don’t know, whenever we had a problem we worked it out very quickly,” he said.
“You’re a great leader, sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true…It’s an honour to be with you; it’s an honour to be your friend… We’re going to have a fantastic future together.”
The US president said he has brought the “best [business leaders] in the world” with him on this trip. “Only the top people here today to pay respects to you,” he said. Follow Live Updates
Top American CEOs, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Tesla’s Elon Musk, are accompanying Trump on the two-day summit. Trump hopes to focus talks on trade and deals for China to buy more agricultural products and passenger planes, setting up a board to address their differences and avoid a repeat of the trade war ignited last year after his tariff hikes.
The US leader added that some people have called this “the biggest summit ever” and that he looks forward “very much” to their discussions.
Trump also made a glancing allusion to past difficulties in his yearslong relationship with Xi. Those include two trade wars and tensions over US support for Taiwan — and Trump’s impatience with Beijing over the flow of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.
He also made no mention of their differences over the Iran War.
What Xi Said
In his remarks, Xi Jinping called for “cooperation” instead of “confrontation” between China and the United States. He said the world was undergoing “a transformation not seen in a century” and stressed the importance of stable China-US relations amid global uncertainty.
“The whole world is watching our meeting. Currently, a transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe, and the international situation is fluid and turbulent. The world has come to a new crossroads,” the Chinese president said.
Raising broader questions about the future of ties between the two global powers, Xi questions if the US and China can overcome the “Thucydides trap” and venture into a “new paradigm” of relations.
Referring to the US-Iran war, he said, “Can China and the United States overcome the Thucydides trap and create a new paradigm of major country relations? Can we meet global challenges together and provide more stability for the world? Can we, in the interests of the well-being of our two peoples and the future of humanity, build a brighter future together for our bilateral relations?”
“These are the questions vital to history, to the world, and to the people. They are the questions of our times that you and I need to answer as leaders of major countries,” he added.
During the talks, Xi will also likely bring up America’s decision to sell weapons to Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own territory. Trump in December authorised an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan but has not yet moved forward with delivery.
Stability in the relationship is the main goal of the two-day summit. Trump is expected to leave just after midday Friday after a final private meeting with Xi.