Trump to host Xi Jinping at a state dinner in the US — TimesLIVE
In the United States, President Donald Trump is set to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at a state dinner on Thursday. During his first election campaign, Trump called China a threat to the US economy, but recently he has increasingly spoken positively about the Chinese leader, TimesLIVE reports.
This month, Trump said that he gets along well with Xi and that the United States and China have very good trade relations, although the countries are competitors. According to the outlet, Trump visited Beijing in May, and the leaders may meet twice more at international summits by the end of the year.
Tariffs and rare earth metals
Trump insisted that the United States is ahead of China, but his attempt last year to increase pressure on Beijing through high tariffs and export restrictions, according to the source, backfired. China has a relative monopoly on rare earth elements used in electronics and used this advantage to help secure a trade truce with the United States.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Michael Kovrig, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group, believes that Trump changed his approach after an unsuccessful attempt to use extremely high tariffs and export restrictions. In Kovrig's view, Xi Jinping gained the upper hand in the competition for leverage. He also said that Trump's policy toward allies helps Beijing portray China as a more stable and responsible state.
Expectations for the meeting
The United States and China are using the trade truce to strengthen their own positions. Beijing is expanding its military capabilities and developing artificial intelligence despite limited access to advanced computer chips. The Trump administration, for its part, is developing partnerships in rare earth elements and betting on accelerated artificial intelligence development.
Georgetown University professor Evan Medeiros noted that state visits are usually accompanied by specific political or trade agreements. At the same time, he said it remains unclear what results Xi's current visit will bring; the main outcome may be maintaining personal relations between the leaders.
