President Donald Trump called his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping a 'great leader' and spoke of a 'fantastic future' with China as the two leaders began a high-stakes summit in Beijing. In his opening remarks ahead of bilaterals, Trump said it was an "honor" to meet and call the Chinese president his "friend".
The two leaders were meeting in Beijing for a US-China summit where few breakthroughs are expected on divisive issues ranging from the Iran war, trade, technology, and Taiwan.
“The relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before… We’re going to have a fantastic future together. I have such respect for China, the job you’ve done. You’re a great leader. I say it to everybody. Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway."
Xi welcomed Trump with a handshake at the opulent Great Hall of the People amid a grand reception and said that the two countries should be “partners and not rivals". He added that he was “happy" to receive Trump for the US leader’s first trip to China since 2017, as “the world has arrived at a new crossroads."
“A stable China-US relationship is a boon for the world. Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both. We should be partners and not rivals," Xi said.
The US president landed in Beijing aboard Air Force One late Wednesday for a two-day summit, accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pentagon Pete Hegseth and several top business leaders, including Jensen Huang and Elon Musk, underscoring Trump’s push for major commercial deals during the visit.
Lawmakers question Hegseth on China tripLawmakers pressed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth over President Donald Trump’s trip to China, warning that allies such as Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines were closely watching whether Washington would stand firm against Beijing’s growing military and economic influence. Mitch McConnell, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, directly questioned Hegseth about whether Indo-Pacific allies could trust the United States not to compromise their security interests during Trump’s meetings in Beijing. McConnell also sought assurances that freedom of navigation in the South China Sea would remain protected during the diplomatic engagement with Beijing. |
