WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will host Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday (Sept 24) for a day full of pageantry with one goal -- keeping the fragile peace between the rival superpowers.
Trump personally greeted Xi on the tarmac after his arrival on Wednesday, the first time in more than six decades that a US president has welcomed a foreign political leader at Joint Base Andrews near Washington.
He will lay on more pomp and ceremony for Xi on Thursday, treating him to a formal welcome on the White House South Lawn, a military flyover, talks in the Oval Office and finally a grand state banquet.
But the lavish welcome masks deep tensions over thorny topics including the trade war between the world's top two economies, artificial intelligence and Beijing's diplomatic and economic support for Iran.
Xi urged cooperation in comments reported by Chinese state media shortly after his arrival, saying that China and the United States should be "partners rather than rivals."
The Chinese president added that he was looking "forward to in-depth exchanges with President Trump on major issues concerning our bilateral relations and the global situation."
- Trade truce -
An early piece of good news for Beijing and Washington was the announcement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday of a two-month extension of a trade truce that was due to expire in November.
Both sides are keen to avoid plunging back into the trade war sparked by the US president's sweeping global tariffs last year.
But while Trump boasts that he will get results from what he calls his "great relationship" with Xi -- the latest in a series of authoritarian leaders he has befriended -- few breakthroughs are expected.
Instead their third meeting since Trump returned to power is aimed at maintaining the broader detente despite the underlying tensions.
Xi's first White House state visit in more than a decade will therefore be more about spectacle than substance.
The program includes a military inspection in the Rose Garden -- which Trump recently paved over -- and a gift giving ceremony involving Trump's wife Melania and Xi's wife Peng Liyuan.
Trump and Xi will make remarks in the morning and again in the evening, though it remains unclear if there will be an opportunity for reporters to put questions to the two leaders.
The state dinner will feature a host of top US tech and AI company bosses -- although Xi's delegation includes no CEOs, sources told AFP.
- 'Great greeting' -
Trump set the tone on Wednesday when he and Melania met the Chinese presidential couple on a red carpet at Joint Base Andrews, before a military band played the national anthems and US bombers flew noisily overhead.
"I thought it was a great little meeting, a great greeting, and I think they appreciate it," Trump told reporters -- brushing off the fact that Xi had not welcomed him at the airport for his Beijing state visit in May.
Trump confirmed that his stalled Iran war would be on the agenda, despite earlier playing down reports that Beijing was giving Tehran intelligence.
"I'll be talking about that and many other subjects -- but it's all coming along well, including that," Trump said.
Artificial intelligence is also set to dominate the summit amid growing fears that it risks wiping out humanity -- even as China and the United States race for supremacy in the field.
Taiwan will also be on the cards, with Trump's words likely to be watched for any sign of diminishing US support for the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory.
Xi's visit will wrap up on Friday morning when the two presidential couples have tea at the White House and then visit the National Archives, home to the US Declaration of Independence. - AFP
