Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump have started a crucial series of meetings in Beijing on Thursday in a US-China summit where few breakthroughs are expected on divisive issues ranging from the Iran war, trade, technology and Taiwan.
Trump hopes to focus talks on trade and deals for China to buy more agricultural products and passenger planes, setting up a board to address their differences and avoid a repeat of the trade war ignited last year after Trump’s tariff hikes.
Xi will likely bring up America’s decision to sell weapons to Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own territory. Trump in December authorised a US$11billion (NZ$18.5 billion) arms package for Taiwan, but has not yet moved forward with delivery.
Stability in the relationship is the main goal of the two-day summit. Trump is expected to leave just after midday Friday after a final private meeting with Xi.
The war with Iran is also likely to be a key topic. Ahead of the meetings, Trump hoped China would use its considerable leverage to prod Iran to agree to US terms to end the two-month-old war or reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz, but he has tempered those calls ahead of the summit.
Xi offers more cautionary tone at start of talks
The leaders offered warm words about each other and hope for the future of US-China relations as they opened their bilateral talks.
But Xi sounded more cautionary about what lies ahead for the world’s biggest economic powers.
“Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both,” Xi said. “The two countries should be partners rather than rivals, achieve success together and pursue common prosperity, and chart a correct path for major-country relations in the new era.”
Why Xi is asking Trump for US and China to avoid the Thucydides Trap
In remarks welcoming Trump, Xi name-checked an ancient Greek historian to express his hopes that the US and China can avoid conflict, saying that history, the world and its people were asking “whether the two countries can transcend the Thucydides Trap and forge a new model for relations between major powers.
”He was using a term that’s popular in foreign policy studies, referring to the idea that when a rising power threatens to displace an established power, the result is often war.
It comes from Thucydides’ account of the destructive Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, in which he remarked that “It was the rise of Athens, and the fear that rise engendered in Sparta, that made war inevitable.”
Xi says the world is at a crossroads, marked by turbulence and uncertainty
The Chinese leader in his opening remarks at the summit underscored the importance of the moment for the two world powers and said the question before China and the United States is “whether the two countries can work together to meet challenges and bring greater stability to the world".
“Can we, in the interest of the well-being of our two peoples and the future of humanity, build a brighter future together for our bilateral relations?” Xi said.
Trump signals he wants to do business with Xi
In his opening comments before reporters to start the meeting, Trump only made glancing allusion to past difficulties in his yearslong relationship with Xi.
Those include two trade wars, tensions over US support for Taiwan — and Trump's impatience with Beijing over the flow precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.
He also made no mention of their differences over the Iran war.
“You’re a great leader, sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true,” Trump said.
A pomp-filled ceremony marks the start of the summit
Trump and Xi stood side by side for the playing of their countries’ national anthems on Thursday as their summit got underway.
The leaders than walked the red carpet, accompanied by a goose stepping Chinese service member, to inspect the military honor guard.
Trump and Xi also paused for a moment in front of dozens of flower-waiving children gathered for the ceremony.
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