US-China summit to be held on 24th, with AI and trade as main topics

[Washington Current Affairs] US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in the US capital, Washington, on the 24th. Artificial intelligence (AI) and bilateral trade are expected to be major topics on the agenda. It will be interesting to see what the two leaders say regarding issues such as Taiwan. According to China's state-run Central Television, Mr. Xi departed from Beijing on the 23rd.

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This is the second face-to-face meeting between the two leaders this year, following the one in May. The visit in May was Trump's first visit to China since taking office for his second term. This is Xi's first visit to the United States in about three years. This will be a mutual visit between the leaders in a short period of time.

Topics at the meeting will include AI, which is raising concerns about its rapid performance improvements, and extending the truce in the trade war, including lowering tariffs and easing export restrictions on rare earths. At the ministerial trade talks held on the 20th, there appears to have been some progress in mitigating the risks of AI and mutually lowering tariffs on items that are not sensitive to national security.

Meanwhile, the Xi administration strongly opposes the Trump administration's plan to sell arms to Taiwan. In a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Rubio on the 17th, Wang Yi, a member of the Communist Party's Politburo and Foreign Minister, reiterated his caution, saying, ``We must respect each other's core interests.'' According to the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, the Trump administration is considering postponing the sale by the end of the year, with an eye toward another meeting with Xi later this year.