Warm words, little progress

US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping exchanged warm words at a lavish White House state dinner on September twenty-fifth but gave little indication of progress on pressing issues.

Xi's AI warning

Xi stressed that artificial intelligence should remain under human control and that both countries should act as responsible major countries. Trump toasted a future of harmony, peace and success for both nations.

“under human control”

Taiwan tensions persist

Tensions remain over Taiwan, with Xi urging Trump earlier in the day to take the correct position on the self-governing island which Beijing claims, amid a weapons package paused by Trump.

Trump's praise for Xi

Trump lavished praise on Xi during his first visit to the US in over a decade, telling dinner guests that while the two countries had different systems, they had never gotten along better.

“never gotten along better”

Xi's vision for relations

Xi welcomed the historic juncture in US-China relations and said both leaders' ambitions could surely be mutually reinforcing. He called for both to act as responsible major countries to meet their peoples' expectations.

“mutually reinforcing”

What divides them

China believes the US is trying to contain its rise as a superpower. Trump has been expected to aim for deals around trade and tariffs, including lowering Chinese tariffs on American goods and increasing US agricultural exports.

The Taiwan arms delay

The US is legally bound to provide Taiwan with means to defend itself, but Trump delayed approving a fourteen billion dollar arms package after Xi in May warned that mishandling the issue could cause the two countries to collide or enter into conflict.

“collide or even enter into conflict”

Tech world turns out

Billionaire business leaders and US tech CEOs joined the leaders at the extravagant dinner. Apple's Tim Cook, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Elon Musk, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Google's Sundar Pichai and Amazon's Jeff Bezos were seated with Trump and Xi.

Dinner details

The First Lady's office planned a menu showcasing American ingredients with subtle Chinese influence. The first course was yellow squash, wild mushrooms and crispy pancetta. The main was sesame-crusted sea bass with braised bok choy and roasted eggplant.

Two more meetings planned

Xi confirmed that he and Trump would meet two more times by year's end, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' meeting in Shenzhen, China in November and again at the G twenty held in Florida in November.

Xi departs Washington

Trump and Xi began Friday with tea at the White House's Red Room with their wives, then toured the US National Archives. Xi and his wife are expected to depart Washington later in the day.