Description: Chinese President Xi Jinping was welcomed at Joint Base Andrews by US President Donald Trump for an official three – day state visit. Upon the arrival of Xi Jinping, US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, stated that both countries have agreed to extend a trade truce which expired on 10 Nov until 10 Jan, signaling positive outcomes from the meeting. Xi in his initial statements called for coordinated approach towards global disruptions such as the US conflict with Iran and stated that China and the US should aim towards becoming partners instead of rivals. Xi also reportedly urged Trump that the Taiwan issue should be handled by the US carefully, while Trump also reportedly asked Xi to support the economic blockade on Iran. The leaders also discussed the growing AI sector and its security implications, however, neither Trump nor Xi are expected to impede AI development in their respective countries. The meetings concluded with a lavish dinner in the White House where prominent US tech executives such as Sam Altman, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg attended with the notable absence of Chinese tech executives.
Impact: The high profile meeting between Trump and Xi highly likely delivered no crucial breakthroughs on ongoing faultlines between the world’s leading global powers. The meeting likely provides both countries to pivot towards a less threatening posture on key issues such as Taiwan, Iran, the trade war and AI development. The US is unlikely to pursue an aggressive defense partnership with Taiwan in the short to mid – term in exchange for China decreasing its intelligence and military support to Iran. On AI, both countries are unlikely to set up strict guardrails in developing their domestic capacities since the technology fuels development in every economic branch in the respective domestic industries. Trade tensions are likely to simmer down in the short to mid – term period, with the trade truce extension, however, both countries are likely to follow each other’s cue on exchanging import and export restrictions on crucial materials and technologies. China and the US likely remain at a diplomatic and bilateral detente in the short to mid – term period which is likely to be disrupted by renewed tensions instead of bilateral reconciliation.