Kicking off a high-stakes state visit to Washington, Chinese President Xi Jinping met US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, with the two leaders set to hold bilateral talks before a state dinner later in the evening.
The visit is Xi’s first to Washington in more than a decade and comes as the world’s two largest economies try to manage tensions over trade, technology, Taiwan and the war in Iran.
With artificial intelligence emerging as a key part of the US-China rivalry, Xi used his opening remarks to stress that the technology must remain under human control and be used for the benefit of people.
Speaking alongside Trump in the White House Grand Foyer, Xi said China and the US had both emerged as global leaders in AI and therefore carried a special responsibility over how the technology develops.
“Both China and the United States are leading nations in artificial intelligence,” Xi said.
“We have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good, and ensure that the development of AI is always under human control and serves the wellbeing of the people.”
The leaders’ bilateral meeting is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, followed by the state dinner in the White House East Room.
AI is expected to be among the issues discussed alongside trade and wider US-China relations.
XI CALLS FOR ‘HEALTHY’ US-CHINA COMPETITION
Calling for limits to the broader US-China rivalry, Xi said competition between the two powers should be a “healthy one, and should be kept within bounds”.
The Chinese leader also said Beijing was ready to increase cooperation with Washington on tackling illegal drugs and called for stronger coordination between the two militaries.
Trump, meanwhile, highlighted what he described as progress in trade and his personal relationship with Xi.
“During this visit, we will also discuss pressing issues concerning security, technology, and ‘super intelligence,'” Trump said. “The decisions we make in these areas today can promote peace and prosperity for decades and decades to come.”
TRUMP, XI TO DISCUSS ‘SUPER INTELLIGENCE’
AI is expected to be one of the major subjects of the Trump-Xi talks, alongside trade, Taiwan, technology and the war with Iran.
Trump has repeatedly referred to artificial intelligence as “super intelligence”.
In a Truth Social post before the meeting, he said technology would be a major topic of discussion but indicated that he did not want to introduce new restrictions.
“Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is,” Trump wrote. “That is China’s position also.”
The two countries are locked in an intense technological race, particularly over advanced chips, computing infrastructure and AI development.
That competition could make any detailed agreement on AI difficult.
This come amid growing calls from some of the world’s leading AI executives to slow the pace of development over concerns about the risks posed by increasingly powerful systems.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for the industry to “pace the frontier”, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI owner Elon Musk backing the push for a more cautious approach.
BIG SYMBOLISM, FEW EXPECTED BREAKTHROUGHS
Returning to Washington for the first time in more than a decade, Xi is holding his second meeting with Trump this year after the US president welcomed him with a grand ceremony at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday.
The summit is expected to produce some agreements, including an extension of the US-China trade truce.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the existing pause in the tariff conflict had been extended until January 10.
But major breakthroughs remain uncertain.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss Taiwan, export controls, rare earth minerals and the Iran war.
Washington is seeking economic and strategic gains, while Beijing wants to protect its interests and maintain access to advanced technology.
