President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping closed out a state visit in Washington on Friday with both leaders calling the talks a success, even as major disputes between the two countries remain unsettled.
Speaking to reporters as he and first lady Melania Trump hosted Xi and Madame Peng Liyuan for tea at the White House, Trump said “we’ve had a tremendous visit from two spectacular people” and that “we’ve made great strides, very positive for both countries.”
Xi, speaking through a translator, thanked the president and first lady for the reception. “Everything is down to the highest order of perfection,” he said. “And there is thought in every little detail. And it’s greatly appreciated.”
“The president and I are like two people that’s charting the course for the great ship of China, U.S. relations,” Xi said.
Xi noted that when Trump visited China in May, the two agreed on building what he called “a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability.” This week’s meetings, he said, were meant to “add new substance to it” on the basis of “respect, fairness and reciprocity.”
Xi told reporters he expects to see Trump twice more this year: at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China in November, and at the G20 Summit in December, which is set to take place at Trump’s Doral resort near Miami, Florida.
“We will see you and we’ll be speaking a lot. I think our farmers are going to be very happy,” Trump said. “A lot of very positive things happened. But, America is very happy about this visit and I’m sure China is very happy also. Great things for both countries. And it’s been just very, very productive.”
Unfinished business remains
Xi arrived in Washington Wednesday evening, four months after he and Trump struck a broad agreement covering Chinese commitments on rare earths, agricultural purchases, trade and investment. Trump had called that earlier deal a breakthrough for American farmers, manufacturers and workers.
But progress on those commitments has been uneven since then, and this week’s talks did not resolve continuing disputes over tariffs, advanced technology, artificial intelligence, intellectual property, or Taiwan.
After Xi’s departure, Trump posted on Truth Social that “the meeting was one of Friendship, Strength, and Success, for both China and the U.S.A.” He added: “Much has been, and will be, accomplished. I look forward to our next meeting!”
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