Trump, Xi wrap up summit with tea and tour of US National Archives

• President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping ended their three-day summit with a White House tea and a National Archives tour, focusing on personal diplomacy over major economic agreements.
• They praised progress in bilateral trade, mentioning increased market access for US farmers and cooperation on artificial intelligence, with detailed agreements to be announced later.
• Xi urged the US to handle the Taiwan issue prudently, seeking a clear US stance against Taiwan independence and a halt to arms sales, sparking criticism from US Senate Democrats.

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping drank tea at the White House on Sept 25 and visited the National Archives, capping a three-day summit that showcased personal diplomacy rather than big breakthroughs in economic relations.

The two leaders praised each other in remarks while they had tea in the White House Red Room. Trump said the summit between the world’s two largest economies had produced great strides and that “I think our farmers are going to be happy” but did not provide details.

“America is very happy about this visit, and I’m sure China is very happy also,” he said.

Xi said the US-China relationship had developed into a constructive one of “strategic stability on the basis of respect, fairness and reciprocity”.

Xi also said he and Trump would have two more opportunities to meet this year, the APEC summit in China and a Group of 20 summit in Miami.

“I do welcome you, Mr President and the First Lady to visit China,” he said.

The lavish state summit, with flyovers, tours and a glittering state dinner, has been heavy on symbolism but light on substance.

Still, Trump highlighted progress under a bilateral trade mechanism, citing what he described as increased market access for US farmers and ranchers, while both leaders identified artificial intelligence as an area for cooperation.

Details of the limited agreements the two sides struck regarding their tense trade relationship would be released on Sept 28, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC on Sept 25.

“We’re in a managed trade situation... We’ve had progress, and we will release on Monday, I think, a lot more details about what we’ve accomplished over the past few weeks in negotiating with the Chinese,” he said.

The US has agreed with China on exempting some key goods from arguments over trade, Greer said, including exports to China of agricultural products and medical devices and imports of consumer and non-sensitive goods.

National Archives tour

The summit concluded at the National Archives, where Trump and Xi appeared to review the US Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

They would also see “artifacts testifying to the long and cherished relationship” between China and the US and their “cultural exchanges,” Trump said in remarks welcoming Xi on Sept 24.

“Just as our ancestors reached across the ocean centuries ago to trade, to learn, and to build a better world, our two countries do really the same thing, and we’re very proud of it and the relationship,” Trump said.

China has not commented on the visit to the archives, but analysts say Xi may be keen to see records relating to the US switch of recognition to communist China from Taiwan in 1979.

Responding to a question, Trump said he and Xi had discussed Iran and said, “I think we’re going to do great” without elaborating. Beijing has denied US allegations of helping Iran’s leaders in the conflict launched by Trump in February.

China presses on Taiwan

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own and Xi has long sought to persuade Trump to state publicly that the US opposes Taiwan’s independence, rather than saying only that it does not support independence, which has been Washington’s formulation for decades.

He is also keen to get the US to halt arms sales to the island.

As expected, Xi pressed Trump on Taiwan on Sept 24, saying he hoped the US would “handle the Taiwan question with prudence.” China’s state news agency also reported that Xi “hopes the US side will adhere to the correct position of opposing ‘Taiwan independence’.”

While the US, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei, Washington is its most important international backer and is bound by US law to provide it with the means to defend itself.

Washington’s Asian allies will watch closely to see how Trump talks about Taiwan following Xi’s visit.

After his May summit with Xi, Trump, whose administration in December approved an US$11 billion (S$14 billion) arms sale package to Taiwan, said he was holding a second package, worth some US$14 billion, in abeyance and described it as a “very good negotiating chip.”

Craig Singleton of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies think-tank said Beijing may believe it has established a new baseline on Taiwan with Trump.

He said Xi’s use of the word “adhere” was revealing because “it implies Beijing believes Washington is already behaving in ways it wants.”

“In the context of the current standdown on Taiwan arms sales, China may increasingly view that restraint as a new baseline rather than a temporary pause,” he said.

“Beijing’s objective is to get Trump to absorb Chinese red lines into his own definition of a stable relationship.”

On Sept 24, Senate Democrats criticised the summit, saying Trump had failed to secure meaningful concessions from Beijing on trade, security, artificial intelligence or human rights.

They also criticised Trump for failing to publicly address China’s military pressure on Taiwan and called for the immediate delivery of approved military aid and arms sales to the island. REUTERS