Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up a state visit to Washington on Thursday, his first trip to the White House in over a decade, with both sides emphasising continuity in ties even as concrete breakthroughs remained limited.
Trade Truce Extended
The two countries extended their tariff truce, originally struck in Busan last October, to 10 January, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, averting a lapse that had been due in November.
Xi Reaffirms 'Constructive' Framework
Xi reaffirmed the "constructive, strategic and stable" framework for bilateral ties the two leaders agreed to in Beijing in May.
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At a state dinner in his honour, Xi invoked more than two centuries of US-China exchange, from George Washington's interest in Chinese porcelain to Richard Nixon's 1972 visit, saying, "Together let us nurture the beautiful flowers of Sino-US friendship."
Taiwan Remains Unresolved
Taiwan featured prominently but produced no shift in position. Trump reasserted long-standing US strategic ambiguity while describing arms sales to the island as a "very good negotiating chip," a framing likely to unsettle Taipei.
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AI And Tech Talks Yield Little
On artificial intelligence, Trump suggested he was content to keep matters "exactly where they are," offering little clarity on export controls even as the issue has taken on new urgency this year. The European Union separately flagged concerns over China's grip on rare earths, a lever Beijing has used repeatedly in trade disputes.
Xi Urges Renewed Iran Talks
Xi called for renewed talks to resolve the ongoing Iran conflict, now in its seventh month, while Trump described the overall meeting as a "great" one. Washington's dependence on Chinese rare earths to replenish depleted munitions stockpiles has added urgency to that appeal.
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Beyond the headline items, follow-through on past pledges was uneven. China had committed in May to buying at least $17 billion a year in US farm goods, excluding soybeans, through 2028, but had purchased only $3.9 billion in the first seven months of 2026, government data showed.
Trump and Xi are due to meet twice more this year, at the APEC summit in Shenzhen in November and the G20 in Florida in December.
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