US President Donald Trump kicked off the busiest portion of his China visit, a summit expected to be long on pageantry and symbolism but unlikely to feature major breakthroughs on key issues like trade, US relations with Taiwan or the war in Iran.
He arrived at an elaborate welcome ceremony on Wednesday night, and his motorcade rolled past a series of American and Chinese flags, as well as skyscrapers lit with Chinese characters reading “Beijing Welcome.” The Republican president headed to his hotel afterward and had no public events.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping greeted Trump during a ceremony on Thursday at the Great Hall of the People, a hub for legislative action by the communist government and a centre for key cultural and social events on the Western side of Tiananmen Square.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi began a three-day official visit to India, marking the first high-level diplomatic engagement from Tehran since the outbreak of the US-Israel war with Iran more than two months ago.
Araghchi is visiting India primarily to attend a two-day meeting of BRICS foreign ministers beginning Thursday. The Iranian foreign minister is set to hold wide-ranging bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, focusing on the escalating crisis in the Middle East.
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Netanyahu has now publicly revealed what Iran's security services long ago conveyed to our leadership. Enmity with the Great People of Iran is a foolish gamble. Collusion with Israel in doing so: unforgivable. Those colluding with Israel to sow division will be held to account.
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Beijing swing comes as Iran continues to dominate his domestic agenda and stoke fears about the prospect of a weakening US economy as the election season ahead of November's midterms — when Republicans will be looking to maintain control of Congress — begins heating up.
Spending so much time with Xi — especially against splendiferous backdrops — will afford ample time for Trump to discuss a series of thorny topics. Those include Iran and trade, but also Taiwan and a possible three-way nuclear arms deal featuring Washington, Beijing and Russia.
Still, progress beyond pleasantries — and lots of praise between Trump and Xi, who have spent years effusively complimenting each other publicly — might prove elusive.
(Source: AP)
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(Source: Fox News)
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