Author, News Department
Place of work, BBC Russian Service
Published 4 minutes ago
Reading time: 5 min
On a Chinese leader's first visit to Washington in 10 years, Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump described their countries as leading world powers and called for cooperation and fair competition. They also said they would discuss the development of artificial intelligence, which the Chinese leader said should remain under human control.
On Wednesday, ahead of the White House meeting, Trump and his wife Melania personally greeted Xi Jinping on the red carpet at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
The US President personally met a foreign leader at the airport for the first time in 11 years. The last time such honors were given to Pope Francis was in 2015 during the presidency of Barack Obama. And before that, in 1962, President John Kennedy met British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.
On Thursday morning, the Chinese leader arrived at the White House, where he spoke to reporters with Trump. They also took part in a ceremony with the participation of military personnel, which took place in the Rose Garden near the residence of American presidents.
Footage of the meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping on the lawn in front of the White House was not shown live on television channels, as is usually the case.
The reason is the boycott that leading American media announced against the president because of his decision to deny access to the White House to journalists from Politico, MS Now and CNN. On Thursday morning, the court ordered that the media be given access to the White House; The presidential guard did not let them through at first, but then obeyed the court decision.
Competition or peaceful coexistence: what Trump and Xi Jinping talked about
Before leaving for talks, Trump and the Chinese leader issued statements. The US President's speech was somewhat shorter than Xi Jinping's speech.
Trump described his relationship with Xi Jinping as very friendly. “Chairman Xi and I have developed a friendship, a truly wonderful friendship, in fact, built on mutual respect and the vital interests of our peoples,” Trump said.
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Despite such rhetoric, relations between Washington and Beijing remained quite tense during Trump's second term. The main problem between them was the trade war, when the head of the White House introduced high duties on Chinese goods.
As BBC columnist Alexei Kalmykov explained, the Chinese responded by limiting rare earth metals vital for the United States, which forced Trump to back down.
A hint of this trade war could be seen in Xi Jinping's words during a speech at the White House.
“China and the US will benefit from cooperation, but both countries will lose from confrontation,” the Chinese leader said. “We don’t need to avoid talking about competition, but our competition should be healthy and not go beyond certain limits. It should be a race in which both sides try to catch up with each other, not a fight where one wins or loses.”
Trump, in turn, said that Chinese and American authorities “are seeking a more balanced trade relationship, including greater access to the Chinese market for American farmers and ranchers.”
At the same time, the Chinese leader said that his country and the United States are obliged to maintain good relations with each other, since the fate of the world depends on it. “With the changes taking place in the modern world, it is extremely important for China and the United States, as the two leading powers, to shoulder historical responsibilities for the progress and development of mankind,” Xi Jinping said.
What did they say about AI?
As expected, both leaders said they intend to discuss the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies.
American companies remain leaders in this area, but Chinese competitors are quickly catching up. Experts note that the Trump administration does not want to slow down the development of AI technologies (as some technology company executives have called for) because it is afraid of competition from China.
In his White House speech, Xi Jinping commented on the AI issue: “Both our countries have the opportunity and responsibility to develop and manage artificial intelligence so that it serves good purposes. We must ensure that AI remains under human control at all times.”
Employees of some American technology companies have called for a slight slowdown in the development of AI tools precisely because of fears that they could get out of control and cause harm to humanity.
“During this visit, we will also discuss the most pressing issues related to security, technology and superintelligence, SI [Trump believes that AI should be called superintelligence - Ed.]. The decisions we make today in these areas can advance peace and prosperity for decades to come,” Trump said ahead of talks with Xi Jinping.
During his visit to the United States, the Chinese leader also again resorted to so-called panda diplomacy, a practice in which Beijing provides pandas to zoos in various countries with which it seeks to maintain good relations. Xi Jinping said that two pandas from China will move into the Atlanta Zoo in the coming days.
In addition, he announced his intention to invite 100,000 young Americans to China for exchange education over the next five years. As BBC correspondents note, this invitation came as a surprise and details about how this program should work have not yet appeared.
Analysis: Trump tries to impress Xi Jinping
Daniel Bush, BBC correspondent in Washington:
Numerous journalists witnessed the military ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.
The American honor guard was placed on the roof above the colonnade of the West Wing and the Oval Office. The soldiers held US and Chinese flags in their hands.
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