Trump says little about the tensions in US-China relations
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met for high stakes talks on Thursday at an urgent moment for the U.S.-China relationship, with the world’s preeminent powers divided on the war in the Iran and still grappling to find common ground on trade and how to best navigate the jarring advances of artificial intelligence.
With their countries in a generational contest for economic and technological dominance, the two appear to be betting that a combination of personal rapport and mutual interest can prevent the competition from boiling over into open conflict.
“From the time of my first election in 2016, President Xi and I have forged a friendship, a truly great friendship, actually, built on mutual respect and the vital interests of our people,” Trump said as he welcomed Xi to the White House for pomp-filled state visit on Thursday.
Xi was more pointed than Trump, saying Chinese and American interests are “deeply intertwined” and that the “competition should be a healthy one and should be kept within bounds.”
He also reiterated his warning that the U.S. and China must avoid the ” Thucydides trap,” referring to the idea that when a rising power threatens to displace an established one, the result is often war. Xi offered a similar warning when Trump visited Beijing in May.
“It should be a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which one either wins or loses,” Xi added.
China has resisted the Trump administration’s urgings -- and economic threats -- to use its considerable leverage to prod Iran to agree to U.S. terms to end the nearly seven-month war. Xi wants to see Trump permanently halt arms sales to Taiwan and loosen export restrictions on cutting-edge advanced chips. The two sides on Wednesday agreed to extend by two months a one-year trade truce that was set to expire Nov. 10 as they work to find a more durable agreement.
During their private conversation on Thursday, Xi urged Trump to “prudently handle the Taiwan issue,” according to the Chinese state media outlet Xinhua. The White House did not immediately release any readout of the talks and Trump, who frequently offered his own take of his interactions with foreign leaders on his social media platform, has yet to weigh in on substance of his conversations with Xi.
China has made clear it views Taiwan as the most sensitive issue in the U.S.-China relationship. Beijing considers Taiwan to be Chinese territory and vows to annex the island by force if necessary. The United States is obligated by law to provide Taiwan with sufficient hardware to deter any armed attack from the mainland. The U.S. has said it opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo by either side.
China has repeatedly pressed Washington to permanently halt the arms sales, including when Trump and Xi met in Beijing in May.
After that meeting, Trump said he was holding off on final approval for a record $14 billion arms package that was in the pipeline. He also described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with China.