Pres. Donald Trump of that USA and pres. Xi Jinping of China. (Photo: Kenny Holston/POOL/AFP)
The USA’s pres. Donald Trump told China’s Xi Jinping on Thursday that their countries will have “a fantastic future together”.
Trump and Xi are meeting in Beijing on several thorny issues, including Iran, trade and Taiwan.
Trump told Xi it was “an honor to be your friend”, while the Chinese leader said the two sides “should be partners and not competitors”.
The trip to Beijing is the first by an American president in almost a decade.
Xi questioned whether China and the US could build cooperation rather than heading for confrontation, as he underlined that “a stable China-US relationship is a blessing to the world.
“Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both,” Xi said.
Trump’s last visit to China was in 2017. The two countries were embroiled in a trade war for a large part of 2025 and at odds over many global issues.
Trump said he expected a “long conversation” with Xi about Iran, which sells most of its US-sanctioned oil to China.
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Tesla’s Elon Musk are part of Trump’s delegation. En route to China, Trump vowed on social media to urge Xi to “open up” China to American firms.
Trump and Xi are poised to discuss extending a one-year tariff freeze, which the two leaders reached during their last meeting in South Korea in October.
On Taiwan, Trump said Monday he would talk to Xi about US arms sales to the self-governing democracy claimed by China.
China’s control over rare earth metal exports and AI competition are among other topics expected to be discussed by the two heads of state.