President Donald Trump and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping are meeting at the White House on Thursday for high-stakes talks focusing on trade, artificial intelligence and the Iran war — in between displays of military fanfare and a lavish banquet.
While China analysts broadly predict the leaders’ personal relationship and policy goals will result in a cautious summit that yields few major deliverables, their latest face-to-face nevertheless carries real geopolitical risk.
That significance was on display the moment Xi arrived Wednesday evening at Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews, where he was greeted on the tarmac by Trump — who met him at the airplane stairs after walking down a red carpet that U.S. service members had rolled out. The White House arrival ceremony Thursday included military members lining the south portico stairs holding alternating U.S. and Chinese flags, while trumpets played a fanfare.
It was Trump’s first time traveling to the base to welcome a foreign leader, a source familiar confirmed to CNBC on condition of anonymity to discuss the president’s plans for the summit. The last president to make the gesture was Barack Obama, who greeted then-Pope Francis on the Andrews tarmac 11 years ago this week.
Before leaving the tarmac, Xi was treated to a military flyover of two B-1 bombers while cannons fired and a U.S. Air Force band played the national anthem.
Chinese media was blanketed with images of Xi’s arrival, holding up the red-carpet treatment as further proof of Beijing’s vaunted global standing.
The flattery extended to social media. “I met President Xi at the plane (Airport!) yesterday and he looks strong, vibrant, and fit – Better than ever,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday morning.
In another post, Trump confirmed that AI will be at the top of the agenda — but asserted that neither the U.S. nor China want to change how the rapidly growing sector is handled.
“Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion,” Trump wrote, using the term he picked to try to rebrand AI amid a crescendo of concerns about the risks posed by the increasingly powerful technology.
“But I want to leave it exactly where it is,” wrote Trump, who has bristled at calls to slow AI growth on the belief that the U.S. must beat China in the race to AI dominance.
“That is China’s position also,” Trump said in the post, suggesting XI also opposes new AI regulations and apparently precluding any possibility of an agreement to strengthen safety precautions.
He added that the U.S. “guardrail” is the Department of Justice, reiterating the Trump administration’s stance that sufficient regulatory safeguards are already in place.
Trump has also confirmed the Iran war will be a topic of discussion with Xi. “I’ll be talking about that and many other subjects but it’s all coming along, including that,” he told reporters Wednesday evening after returning to the White House.
The U.S. last month launched “Operation Economic Outcast,” its effort to harm Iran by targeting its financial enablers with secondary sanctions. The plan raised questions about whether the U.S. would take action against China, Tehran’s top trading partner and oil buyer.
The Trump administration has said no country is exempt from potential sanctions, but it has not directly targeted Beijing.
Trump has also shied from unreservedly criticizing China over its reported Iran ties in the run-up to the Xi meeting. Asked about a Wall Street Journal report that Chinese entities supplied Tehran with satellite imagery that it used to carry out deadly attacks on U.S. troops in Jordan in July, Trump said of Beijing’s surveillance activities, “They basically do what we do.”
On Thursday morning, Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomed Xi and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan at the White House for an arrival ceremony. It is Xi’s first visit to Washington since September 2015, coming to the capital city right after the pope.
The leaders will then head to the Rose Garden for a military review, after which Trump and Xi will hold a bilateral meeting, while Melania Trump and Madame Peng branch off for a separate event.
That evening, Trump and the first lady will host the Chinese delegation for a state dinner in the White House’s East Room, with both countries’ leaders expected to give remarks at the top of the event.
A slew of U.S. business executives are slated to join the dinner. Reuters had reported that Xi was expected to bring along his own crew of CEOs, but that entourage did not materialize. The South China Morning Post reported Thursday morning that a small group of Chinese CEOs flew to the U.S. separately from Xi, even though they have not yet found out if they will be able to join the events.
On Friday, the presidents and first ladies will hold a private tea at the White House, then take a tour of the National Archives before Xi’s departure.
“President Xi hosted President Trump in China for a historic summit this summer, and President Trump is reciprocating his hospitality by welcoming the Chinese delegation for a reciprocal visit this week,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told CNBC in a statement.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.