Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his state visit to Washington on Friday by announcing that he expects to meet US President Donald Trump two more times before the end of the year, doubling the number of face-to-face discussions between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies in 2026.
The promise of more meetings to come capped off a three-day state visit that has been criticised by some in the US for being heavy on pomp and light on substance, although Mr Trump said they discussed the war in Iran.
The two leaders have made a show of working to preserve harmony, though there were no major breakthroughs this week on issues such as trade or the safety of artificial intelligence.
Mr Xi extended an invitation for Mr Trump and first lady Melania Trump to go to the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November and noted that they could meet again a month later at the G20 summit at the Trump National Doral Miami golf club in Florida.
“We do welcome Mr President and the first lady to visit China,” Mr Xi said.
Mr Trump responded: “We will, and we’ll be speaking a lot.”
Mr Trump took Mr Xi to visit the National Archives on Friday, showing off the sacred texts of US democracy to the leader of the world’s most powerful communist country.
Mr Xi is expected to depart Washington after touring the nation’s vault of records, where the declaration of independence, the constitution and the bill of rights are held.
Mr Trump, a Republican, has been seeking to demonise Democrats as communists during the run-up to the November midterm elections, a message that has been muddied by the red-carpet treatment he has given Mr Xi this week.
The visit comes as the US celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, and Mr Trump said on Thursday that he wanted to show Mr Xi “some of the greatest treasures of that proud history”.
The archives has a special exhibit marking the semiquincentennial, titled The American Story, which highlights the country’s accomplishments and advances, along with images depicting its darker moments.
Mr Trump showed Mr Xi one copy of the declaration of independence on Thursday — a wall-mounted copy he keeps in the Oval Office.
The US president also said he wanted to show Mr Xi artefacts about the relationship between the two countries.
“Just as our ancestors reached across the ocean centuries ago to trade, to learn, and to build a better world, our two countries do really the same thing, and we’re very proud of it,” he said.
Mr Xi’s day began at the White House, where Mr Trump and the first lady hosted the Chinese leader and his wife, Peng Liyuan, for tea in the Red Room.
Their visit falls during China’s mid-autumn festival, a national holiday when families traditionally gather to celebrate the end of harvest, sharing mooncakes, round pastries filled with a sweet paste, over tea.
Mr Xi thanked the Trumps for the visit.
“The highest courtesies, the most meticulous arrangements,” Mr Xi said in Chinese.
“This visit is very successful, and we also feel very satisfied.”
Mr Trump grinned when an interpreter relayed what Mr Xi had said.
“We’ve had a tremendous visit from two spectacular people, and we really enjoyed it, and I think we’ve made tremendous strides,” Mr Trump said.
“We’ve made great strides, very positive for both countries.”
The Trumps feted their guests on Thursday night with a black-tie state dinner attended by technology industry titans.
Earlier in the day, Mr Trump gave Mr Xi a personal tour of his White House flourishes, including a gallery wall of presidents and a new 100-foot-long (30-metre-long) granite helicopter landing pad — and pointed out his ballroom, still under construction.
The two leaders also met behind closed doors for 90 minutes on Thursday, when they discussed issues such as the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, according to the official Chinese government readout of the meeting.
The White House has not provided any information about the private talks, but Mr Trump told reporters at the archives on Friday that he and Mr Xi discussed the Iran war in their meeting. He did not offer additional details.
“We had a great meeting. We had a really great meeting. Great for the farmers. Great for everybody,” he said.
Outside the building, the two leaders said goodbye and exchanged one last handshake before getting into their respective cars. Mr Xi was set to leave Washington, and Mr Trump returned to the White House.
Share