US-China summit: Trump-Xi talks on trade, AI and Iran — what to know

US President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a high-profile summit marked by elaborate ceremony and warm rhetoric, but with limited public evidence of breakthroughs on some of the biggest issues dividing Washington and Beijing.

Artificial intelligence was a key focus of the talks, alongside trade and the war involving the US, Israel and Iran. The discussions also highlighted the broader challenge of managing competition between the world’s two largest economies.

Here are the key takeaways:

Artificial intelligence emerged as one of the central issues in the talks, with the US and China competing for leadership in advanced technology.

Xi said both countries had the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI safely.

“We have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good and ensure that the development of AI is always under human control and serves the well-being of the people,” Xi said.

Trump has taken a different approach, pushing back against calls for tighter controls on rapidly advancing AI. Ahead of the meeting, he said “Super Intelligence” would be a major topic but that he wanted to “leave it exactly where it is”.

The contrasting positions highlight the difficulty of finding common ground on AI while Washington and Beijing remain strategic competitors in technology, semiconductors and other advanced industries.

The clearest tangible outcome was an extension of the existing US-China trade truce, giving the two sides more time to negotiate their broader economic differences.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the arrangement was extended until January 10.

But several major disputes remain unresolved:

For companies, the extension offers some temporary stability, but the broader trading relationship remains subject to further negotiations.

The war involving the US, Israel and Iran also entered the discussions.

According to Xinhua, Xi expressed support for the US and Iran returning to a ceasefire and eventually negotiating a peace agreement.

His comments came after Trump strongly defended US military power in a speech at the United Nations, where he suggested that the US could “annihilate” Iran.

However, the material provided offers little indication that Beijing was prepared to use its relationship with Tehran to press Iran to accept US demands.

Taiwan was also discussed during the meeting.

According to China's official news agency, Xi urged the US to oppose “Taiwan independence” and called on Washington to handle the Taiwan question with “prudence”.

Xi also called for regular communication between the US and Chinese militaries to improve crisis prevention.

He said competition between the two countries should be “healthy” and referred to the “Thucydides Trap”, an academic theory that competition between a rising power and an established power can increase the risk of conflict.

Xi argued that the risk could be overcome and that both countries stood to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.

Trump repeatedly highlighted his personal relationship with Xi and described their ties as a “truly great friendship”.

At the state dinner, Trump said: “President Xi and I both understand we represent different systems, but the ties between our people endure, and we've never gotten along better.”

He said the two countries could continue building a relationship that promotes prosperity and security.

Xi struck a more measured tone, saying the interests of the two countries were “deeply intertwined” and that competition should remain healthy.

He said the leaders had held “sincere and in-depth exchanges” and agreed to build a constructive China-US relationship based on strategic stability.

The White House visit was accompanied by elaborate ceremony and a lavish state dinner.

Trump personally greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, when they arrived at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday. The leaders later took part in a military ceremony and flyover at the White House.

Trump also showed Xi:

The state dinner brought together senior officials and prominent technology and business executives, including Nvidia's Jensen Huang, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Google's Sundar Pichai, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Apple's Tim Cook, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Trump also invited guests to view the construction site of the planned ballroom.

Trump presented Xi with a custom-made statue of a bald eagle, the national symbol of the United States, during the state dinner.

Guests were served a menu that included:

After the dinner, Trump invited guests to tour the construction site of his planned $400 million White House ballroom.

“In honor of you, you'll be the first people to step foot on that,” Trump told the guests.

The summit and state dinner brought together senior US and Chinese officials, along with leading figures from technology and business.

US officials

Chinese officials

Technology and business leaders

The dinner also included Supreme Court justices, senior administration officials, media figures and other prominent business leaders.

As Trump and Xi began talks in the Oval Office, Trump joked that China had the “friendliest press corps”.

The comment came days after CNN, MS NOW and Politico had been barred from covering events at the White House. The outlets returned on Thursday following a court order restoring their access.

The meeting extended the trade truce and kept dialogue between Washington and Beijing going, but the material provided points to few concrete breakthroughs on the biggest areas of disagreement.

Key points to watch next:

The summit combined a strong public display of friendship and cooperation with continued differences over issues at the heart of US-China strategic competition.

With inputs from AFP, AP