Washington: US President Donald Trump said Washington is “doing very well with China” and expects to discuss multiple agreements with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his upcoming visit to the White House, which will mark Xi’s first visit to the US presidential residence in more than a decade.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he and Xi have maintained a good relationship and expressed confidence that the upcoming meeting would involve important discussions and multiple deals.
“We’re doing very well with China. I would say others maybe not so well, but we’re doing very well with China. And President Xi and I have a good relationship. We’re going to have a lot of different deals,” Trump said.
“We intend – we’re not just doing it for our health. We’re going to have some pretty important meetings,” he added.
Trump also spoke about the tariff relationship between the two countries, recalling that US tariffs on Chinese goods had at one point reached 145 per cent before being reduced.
“China is paying us a lot of tariffs. And, you remember, I had it up to 145% at one point, but it was too much. It was really hurting them badly, and I didn’t want to do that,” Trump said.
Xi Jinping’s White House Visit To Focus On Trade, AI And Taiwan
Xi Jinping is scheduled to arrive in Washington this week for his first White House visit in more than a decade. The state visit is expected to bring the leaders of the world’s two largest economies together for discussions on trade, artificial intelligence and Taiwan.
The visit follows Trump’s trip to Beijing in May, when Xi hosted him at the Great Hall of the People. The two leaders had agreed to what they described as a “constructive, strategic and stable relationship”.
According to the schedule shared by US officials, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, will land at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, where Trump will personally greet them. On Thursday, both couples will take part in a formal White House arrival ceremony and military review before Trump and Xi hold bilateral talks.
Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan will follow a separate programme of engagements in Washington that day.
That evening, the Trumps will host a state dinner for the Chinese delegation in the East Room, where both presidents are expected to speak. The guest list includes technology and business leaders such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai, Michael Dell, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, Jane Fraser and Tim Cook.
On Friday, the two couples will have private tea at the White House before touring the National Archives to view America’s founding documents. Xi will then depart from Joint Base Andrews.
Tariffs, AI And Rare Earths On The Agenda
The current US-China tariff truce is due to expire in November, and officials have said its future, along with existing chip export licences, will be discussed. No outcome has been decided in advance.
Washington has also ruled out trading away its export controls on rare earth flows in exchange for concessions, while discussions are underway on reducing tariffs on a narrow range of “non-strategic” goods. Recent US-China talks have also included potential tariff reductions involving energy and agricultural trade.
Artificial intelligence is also expected to be a major topic. Discussions could include proposals for previewing new AI models between the two countries and oversight of Chinese open-source systems, although US officials have not detailed a firm negotiating position.
Washington is also continuing to press Beijing over the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals to cartels in Mexico. Trump is expected to again raise the cases of Americans held in Chinese prisons.
Taiwan remains another major point of sensitivity in the relationship. Beijing has previously warned Washington against crossing what it describes as “red lines” on the issue. Reports of a pending $14 billion US arms package for Taiwan could also add complexity to the talks.
For India and other economies, the outcome of the Trump-Xi meeting could have implications for global trade, supply chains, technology markets and commodity prices, particularly if the two sides make changes to tariffs, semiconductor restrictions or rare-earth trade.
Two further Trump-Xi meetings are expected later this year, at the APEC summit in November and the G20 summit in December.