WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump is hosting his Chinese counterpart in Washington for a summit to confront some of the most consequential issues facing the U.S.-China relationship.
From Xi Jinping’s arrival to Washington Wednesday, to his White House greeting Thursday morning, the ceremonies were lavish and the stakes high. Behind the pageantry lay consequential issues impacting a complicated relationship: trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and the war in Iran.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington and Beijing have reached at least one agreement so far: extending the pause on new tariffs until Jan. 10. Bessent said the extension will buy both sides another two months to negotiate. The agreement follows a dramatic escalation in the trade war, when U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods reached as high as 145%.
On Capitol Hill Thursday, it was a much less receptive welcome to Washington for China’s leader.
“China’s an adversary and we have to be very clear eyed about that,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.
“You know, Trump has to be diplomatic, but Xi’s a despicable person that is killing us with fentanyl, building a military to try to defeat us,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-FL.
“Fact is, these foreign leaders are taking the United States to the cleaners as we speak, despite all the lavishness that Donald Trump bestows upon them,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
“We are calling on Trump to stand up for the nation’s security, by once and for all, blocking China’s access to our A.I. chips and manufacturing equipment,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Trump and Xi’s summit comes amid repeated accusations of Chinese artificial intelligence companies copying the intellectual property of American AI companies.
Tech leaders from Nvidia, Google, OpenAI and others are expected to attend a state dinner at the White House Thursday evening, featuring the president and first lady and their Chinese counterparts.
