Beijing cites 'new consensuses,' Trump says trip produced 'a lot of good'
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping while leaving after a visit to the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15. © Reuters
SHANGHAI/TOKYO -- U.S. President Donald Trump is making his first visit to China in nearly nine years, as the rival superpowers aim to stabilize their fraught relationship.
The American president arrived Wednesday evening and is scheduled to stay until Friday. The itinerary includes plenty of face time with Chinese President Xi Jinping, from formal bilateral talks to a state banquet, tea and lunch.
The leaders have much to discuss: the Iran war, trade and export controls, tensions over Taiwan, and artificial intelligence. Trump has brought an entourage of corporate executives including Tesla's Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook and Nvidia's Jensen Huang. There are high expectations that the president will help seal commercial deals for aircraft and U.S. farm goods.
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2:00 p.m. Live news footage shows a crowd building at the airport near Air Force One, ahead of Trump's departure from China. Students dressed in blue and white -- similar to the colors of Trump's plane -- are there to see him off.
1:05 p.m. Trump says "a lot of good" has come out of his trip to China, and that they have made "fantastic trade deals," the details of which remain unknown. In their second day of meetings, Xi echoes China's framing of U.S. ties as a "constructive relationship of strategic stability."
12:55 p.m. Coinciding with the summit, Anthropic has urged the U.S. and its allies to not let the Communist Party of China take the lead in the AI race, saying strict chip export controls are needed to keep democracies ahead of "authoritarian governments."
11:40 a.m. News photos from this morning show crowds of onlookers gathering to catch a glimpse of Trump's motorcade and snap photos.
11:00 a.m. Trump and Xi have met again at Zhongnanhai, the headquarters of the Communist Party leadership in Beijing.
10:55 a.m. China's foreign ministry says Trump and Xi have reached "a series of new consensuses." They committed, according to the ministry, on "properly handling each other's concerns and agreed to strengthen communication and coordination on international and regional issues."
In comments published on its website, the ministry also lays out China's position on the Iran war. "Shipping routes should be reopened as soon as possible, responding to the calls of the international community, and jointly maintaining the stability and smooth flow of global supply chains," according to an unnamed spokesperson.
"A comprehensive and lasting ceasefire should be reached as soon as possible to promote the early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East and the Gulf region, laying the foundation for building a sustainable regional security architecture."
9:30 a.m. Trump is scheduled to take a "friendship photo" with Xi later this morning, before the leaders sit down for tea and lunch. They will be aiming to firm up some concrete "deliverables" from the visit before the American president departs in the afternoon.
8:30 a.m. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. hopes for a "positive response" from China on the case of Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned 78-year-old Hong Kong media tycoon.
