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Trump Set to Meet With Xi in Beijing 05/13 06:07
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday for his
highly anticipated summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a restless moment
for a world worried about war, trade and artificial intelligence.
BEIJING (AP) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Beijing on
Wednesday for his highly anticipated summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a
restless moment for a world worried about war, trade and artificial
intelligence.
"We're the two superpowers," Trump told reporters as he departed the White
House on Tuesday. "We're the strongest nation on Earth in terms of military.
China's considered second."
While Trump likes to project a sense of strength, the visit occurs at a
delicate moment for his presidency as his popularity at home has been weighed
down by the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran and rising inflation as a
consequence of that conflict. The Republican president is seeking a win by
signing deals with China to buy more American soybeans, beef and aircraft,
saying he'll be talking with Xi about trade "more than anything else."
The Trump administration hopes to begin the process of establishing a Board
of Trade with China to address differences between the countries. The board
could help prevent the trade war ignited last year after Trump's tariff hikes,
an action China countered through its control of rare earth minerals. That led
to a one-year truce last October.
But Trump visits Beijing when Iran continues to dominate his domestic
agenda. The war has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz,
stranding oil and natural gas tankers and causing energy prices to spike to
levels that could sabotage global economic growth. The U.S. president declared
that Xi didn't need to assist in resolving the conflict, even though Iran's
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Beijing last week.
"We have a lot of things to discuss. I wouldn't say Iran is one of them, to
be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control," Trump told
reporters Tuesday.
Taiwan high on the agenda
The status of Taiwan also appears to be a major topic as China is displeased
with U.S. plans to sell weapons to the self-governing island that the Chinese
government claims as part of its own territory.
Trump told reporters Monday that he would be discussing with Xi an $11
billion weapons package for Taiwan that the U.S. administration authorized in
December but has not yet begun fulfilling. The arms package is the largest ever
approved for Taiwan.
But the U.S. leader has demonstrated greater ambivalence toward Taiwan, an
approach that's raising questions about whether Trump could be open to dialing
back support for the island democracy.
At the same time, Taiwan -- as the world's leading chipmaker -- has become
essential for the development of AI, with the U.S. importing more goods so far
this year from Taiwan than China. Trump has sought to use Biden-era programs
and his own deals to bring more chipmaking to America.
The Chinese Communist Party's news outlet, People's Daily, published a
strongly worded editorial on Tuesday underscoring that Taiwan is "the first red
line that cannot be crossed in China-U.S. relations" and is "the biggest point
of risk" between the two nations.
Trump says relationship with Xi is on solid footing
Trump was already portraying the trip as a success before he left White
House grounds. He openly mused about Xi's planned reciprocal visit to the U.S.,
lamenting that the ballroom under construction would not be completed in time
to properly fete the Chinese leader.
"We're going to have a great relationship for many, many decades to come,"
Trump said of the U.S. and China. "As you know, President Xi will be coming
here toward the end of the year. So that would be exciting. I only wish we had
the ballroom finished."
Trump said he had spoken with the Chinese leader and the meeting would be
"positive" as he embarked on Air Force One with a coterie of aides, family
members and business world titans, including Nvidia's Jensen Huang and Tesla
and SpaceX's Elon Musk.
Trump, as he flew to Beijing, posted on social media that his "first
request" to Xi during the visit will be to ask the Chinese leader to bolster
the presence of U.S. firms in China.
"I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to
'open up' China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help
bring the People's Republic to an even higher level!" wrote Trump, who is
expected to receive a formal ceremonial greeting when he arrives in the Chinese
capital on Wednesday evening.
Despite Trump's outward confidence, China appears to be entering the meeting
from "a much stronger place," said Scott Kennedy, a senior adviser on Chinese
business and economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a
Washington think tank.
China would like to reduce tech restrictions on accessing computer chips and
find ways to reduce tariffs, among other goals.
"But even if they don't get much on any of those things, as long as there's
not a blow-up in the meeting and President Trump doesn't go away and look to
re-escalate, China basically comes out stronger," Kennedy said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met
on Wednesday to discuss economic and trade issues at Incheon International
Airport, just west of the South Korean capital Seoul, according to the Chinese
state run Xinhua News Agency.
Trump wants 3-way nuclear arms deal
Trump also intends to raise the idea of the U.S., China and Russia signing a
pact that would set limits on the nuclear weapons each nation keeps in its
arsenal, according to a senior Trump administration official who briefed
reporters ahead of the trip. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity
under ground rules set by the White House.
China has previously been cool to entering such a pact. Beijing's arsenal,
according to Pentagon estimates, exceeds more than 600 operational nuclear
warheads and is far from parity with the U.S. and Russia, which each are
estimated to have more than 5,000 nuclear warheads.
The last nuclear arms pact, known as the New START treaty, between Russia
and the United States expired in February, removing any caps on the two largest
atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century. As the treaty
was set to expire, Trump rejected a call by Russia to extend the two-country
deal for another year and called for "a new, improved, and modernized" deal
that includes China.
The Pentagon estimates China has more than 600 operational nuclear warheads
and will have over 1,000 by 2030.
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