United States (U.S) President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday held bilateral talks.
Trump and Xi held the bilateral talks at the Great Hall of the People as the world’s two largest economies navigate new policies on trade and tariffs.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook were among those who were in attendance at Thursday’s bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People.
This comes after Trump arrived in China on Wednesday for a two-day visit.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that the meeting lasted roughly two hours and 15 minutes.
Before entering a closed-door session, Xi had praised Trump, hoping that the bilateral meeting would usher in renewed collaboration between China and the U.S.
In his opening remarks, Xi noted that “the whole world is watching our meeting. Currently, a transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe and the international situation is fluid and turbulent”.
“The world has come to a new crossroads. Can China and the US overcome the Thucydides trap and create a new paradigm of relations? Can we meet global challenges together and provide more stability for the world? Can we, in the interest of our world, of our two peoples, and the future of humanity, build a brighter future for our bilateral relations?”
“These are the questions vital to history, to the world, and to the people. They are the questions of our times that you and I need to answer as leaders of major countries.”
Xi also congratulated Trump and the U.S on their 250th anniversary of independence.
“I always believe that our two countries have more common interests than differences. Success in one is an opportunity for another, and a stable bilateral relationship is good for the world,” he continued. “China and the US both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontations.”
“We should be partners not rivals, we should help each other succeed and prosper and find the right way for major countries to get along with each other in the new era.”
Xi said he looked forward to having discussions with Trump and “working together with you to set the course for and steer the giant ship of China-US relations, to make 2026 a historic landmark year that opens up a new chapter”.
Also, Trump, in his remarks emphasized his personal relationship with Xi, calling him a friend and a “great leader” and saying the two have always been able to work out their disagreements. He also said the U.S. is eager to do business with China.
“We’ve gotten along, when there were difficulties we worked it out. I would call you and you would call me,” Trump said. “People don’t know, whenever we had a problem we worked it out very quickly.”
“I say it to everybody, you’re a great leader,” Trump added.
The U.S president said he’s brought the “best [business leaders] in the world” with him on this trip. “Only the top people here today to pay respects to you,” he continued.
“It’s an honour to be with you, it’s an honour to be your friend, the US-China relations are going to be “better than ever before”.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass also reports that this is the first time Trump and Xi have held a face-to-face meeting since October, and the first visit to China by a U.S president since Trump traveled to Beijing in 2017.
The meeting also comes amid the strained relationship between the U.S and China.
Recall that last year, Trump slammed hefty tariffs on China and dozens of other trading partners, a development that sparked a tit-for-tat trade war, leading the two countries to briefly jack up tariffs on each other’s goods to over 100%. China and the U.S. also squared off over rare earth elements, semiconductors, student visas, shipments of fentanyl precursor chemicals, Chinese soybean imports, and other issues.
Tensions have calmed since then, with both countries scaling back tariffs and China agreeing to halt export restrictions on rare earths.
It’s unclear whether the U.S and China are on track to strike a more comprehensive trade deal, but sources believe neither side is looking for a repeat of last year’s trade war, and both sides have said they are looking for stability.
