One day into US President Donald Trump’s visit to China for trade talks, both he and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged toasts at a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, hailing their relationship as the world’s most “consequential”. On Thursday, after visiting the Temple of Heaven, Xi spoke of a “shared US-China future”, warning that failure to handle this bond would create a “very dangerous situation”. “We must make it work and never mess it up,” he said.
The US president described his Chinese counterpart as “my friend” in his opening remarks. “We are going to have a fantastic future together. I have such respect for China, for the job you’ve done. You are a great leader,” Trump told Xi. Trump also invited Xi and First Lady Peng Liyuan to a return visit to the White House on September 24. For his part, the Chinese president said he was “very happy” to meet Trump in Beijing at a time of historic turbulence when the “world stands at a new crossroads”. He posed questions: “Can we join hands to address global challenges and inject greater stability into the world? Can we uphold the wellbeing of our respective peoples and the shared future of humanity?”
Reporting from Beijing, Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu said that while the Chinese leader did not expand on his friendship with Trump, his reception underscored how highly Xi regards this visit. “China is deeply invested in symbolism and visual optics, and it uses these details to convey the importance of a guest,” Yu said. Trump was welcomed at the Great Hall of the People, “the equivalent of the White House and all other important centres of power combined”. Additionally, Vice President Han Zheng greeted Trump at the airport, making him the highest-ranking Chinese official to ever welcome a US president.
Trump and Xi may meet again at least twice this year – the APEC leaders’ meeting in Shenzhen in November and the G20 summit in Miami, Florida in December. It would be unprecedented for the US president to travel to China twice in one year. Xi and Trump agreed to frame their relationship as “constructive, strategic and stable” in a new positioning intended to guide US-China ties for the next three years and beyond. Trump said the bilateral ties were among “the most consequential” in the world.
The Chinese president said the two countries should become partners, rather than rivals, adding that “mutual respect is key to stable China-US ties”. “I have always believed that the common interests between China and the US outweigh the differences,” Xi said. Trump and Xi discussed trade, with Xi saying that China’s door of opportunity will open wider. Trump will be hoping this includes a Chinese pledge to buy US soya beans, beef and aircraft. The US and China entered a tariff standoff last year, with each side imposing retaliatory tariffs on each other’s exports.
On Taiwan, Xi reportedly warned Trump that the issue could lead to conflict if not handled carefully. However, Taiwan was not mentioned in a joint statement, and Trump notably ignored a question from reporters about his stance. Xi told Trump that the “Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations”. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that China is “currently the sole risk to regional peace and stability”.
The US-Israel war on Iran also came up in the meeting. In their joint statement, Trump and Xi agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and Iran should never have nuclear weapons. US officials have previously said they might need China’s help in convincing Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, but analysts say Beijing will want concessions on Taiwan in exchange.
Source: www.aljazeera.com