Xi: ‘US and China should be partners, not rivals’
Xi said he and Trump have kept China-US relations “generally stable”.
He added:
double quotation markToday, president Trump and I had in-depth exchanges on China-US relations and the international and regional dynamics. We both believe that the China-US relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. We must make it work and never mess it up.
Both China and the United States stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. Our two countries should be partners rather than rivals.
Chinese president Xi Jinping speaks at a state banquet for US president Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 06.32 EDT
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Supreme court poised to issue opinions
The supreme court will hand down opinions at 10am ET today. Here’s a reminder of the major cases we’re tracking closely.
Trump v Cook: Donald Trump’s case for firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, as he continues to exert greater control over the US central bank.
Trump v Slaughter: A case which examines the legality of Trump’s firing of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member, Rebecca Slaughter.
Trump v Barbara: In which the court will decide if the administration’s attempts to restrict birthright citizenship are unconstitutional.
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Bessent: ‘We’re going to see substantial disinflation’
In response to a question about the latest data which saw US inflation jump to 3.8%, higher than when Joe Biden left office, Bessent remained undeterred.
“We may get a series, one or two more hot inflation numbers,” the treasury secretary said in an interview with CNBC. “But then I think we’re going to see substantial disinflation.”
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Bessent predicts whipsawing price of oil to come ‘trundling’ down
While Trump was feasting with Xi Jinping at a state banquet in Beijing, treasury secretary Scott Bessent predicted that the price of oil will come “trundling” down in an interview with CNBC today.
“I firmly believe that nothing is more transient than a supply shock,” Bessent said.
The treasury secretary pointed to “record production” of oil in the US, as the basis for his argument. This comes as the price for a barrel of Brent Crude – the international benchmark – sits above $100.
“We’re going to keep pumping,” Bessent said. “Which will mean that the look through to inflation will also come down very quickly.”
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Updated at 08.45 EDT
Here’s a summary of Donald Trump and Xi’s most recent meeting
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US policy on Taiwan is “unchanged” after talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
Xi emphasised that Taiwan “is the most important issue in China-US relations”, adding that, if handled poorly, “the two countries will clash or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a very dangerous place”.
The US has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia’s second-most powerful chip in a move that could clear the way for the end of the standoff over tech rivalry.
The Chinese president questioned whether the US and China “can transcend the “Thucydides Trap” (see earlier post) and forge a new paradigm for great power relations”.
Xi said he and Trump agreed to establish a “constructive strategic and stable relationship between China and the US” as the new framework for bilateral relations.
On trade, US and Chinese economic and trade teams “reached an overall balanced and positive outcome” in discussions yesterday.
Xi said Beijing’s door “to the outside world will only open wider … American companies will enjoy even brighter prospects in China”.
The White House described the meeting as “good” and that Trump and Xi “highlighted the need to build on progress in ending the flow of fentanyl precursors into the United States, as well as increasing Chinese purchases of American agricultural products”.
The two leaders “exchanged views on major international and regional issues”, including the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean peninsula.
Trump told Xi he is “a great leader and China is a great country, and he deeply respects President Xi and the Chinese people”.
During the talks, Trump “introduced the business leaders who accompanied him to Xi Jinping one by one”.
Trump raised a glass to Xi, as he concluded his speech at the state banquet with an invitation to the White House on 24 September.
Donald Trump makes a toast at the state banquet with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Rubio: US policy on Taiwan ‘unchanged’
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US policy on Taiwan is “unchanged” after talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
“Our policies on that have not changed,” Rubio told NBC News. “It’s been pretty consistent across multiple presidential administrations, and remains consistent now.”
Xi warned Trump that disagreements over Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, could bring Beijing and Washington into conflict.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio at the state banquet for Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 07.55 EDT
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Washington and Beijing are able to discuss artificial intelligence guardrails because the US is “the undisputed leader in the world” of AI.
“The two AI superpowers are gonna start talking. We’re gonna set up a protocol in terms of how do we go forward with best practices for AI to make sure non-state actors don’t get a hold of these models,” he told CNBC.
He added: “The reason we are able to have wholesome discussions with the Chinese on AI is because we are in the lead.
“I do not think we would be having the same discussions if they were this far ahead of us.”
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US clears Nvidia chip sales to 10 Chinese firms as CEO looks for breakthrough
Lisa O’Carroll
The US has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia’s second-most powerful chip in a move that could clear the way for the end of the standoff over tech rivalry.
China dominates the global supply of legacy chips, the older style chip used in everything from washing machines to smartphones, cars and medical devices.
But it lags behind on advanced chips, designed by the likes of Nvidia, used to drive artificial intelligence learning.
Earlier this year three people were charged in the US with trying to unlawfully divert cutting edge US AI tech to China, a sign of the frenzied demand to compete on AI.
The presence of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was not originally expected to join Donald Trump’s trip to China, has raised hopes that a tech deal could be still be rescued.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks to the media as he arrives for the meeting between Chinese premier Li Qiang and US business representatives in Beijing. Photograph: Go Nakamura/AP
Nvidia dominates the AI chip market with Mizuho Securities estimating the company supply between 70% and 95% of the chips used for training by OpenAI’s GPT and others.
Ahead of the summit Trump said he would be asking Xi Jinping to “open up” China to allow their “brilliant people” to “work their magic”, code for permission to allow US trade companies enter the Chinese market.
Nvidia’s most advanced chips, widely used for training AI models, have faced tighter US restrictions on China sales over the last four years.
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Donald Trump, accustomed to eating McDonald’s, is being forced to expand his palate at tonight’s state banquet in Beijing.
The menu includes lobster in tomato soup, crispy beef ribs, Beijing roast duck, stewed seasonal vegetables, slow-cooked salmon in mustard sauce, pan-fried pork bun and trumpet shell-shaped pastry.
The dinner caps a first day of talks between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping that appear to have gone smoothly but offered little by way of substance.
The table setting for US President Donald Trump at the state banquet hosted by Chinese president Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images
It is being held in a huge hall in the Great Hall of the People beneath giant chandeliers, blue and gold balconies and an orange backdrop with pagoda-style roofs saying ‘Welcoming banquet’ with US and China flags.
Xi toasted Trump by saying the relationship between China and the US is the most important in the world today and we “must make it work and never mess it up”. He added that the “rejuvenation of China” and “make America great again” can go hand in hand.
Then Trump delivered a flat speech with few of his usual digressions. He said he had invited Xi to visit the White House on 24 September. Toasting the enduring ties between the American and Chinese people, he described it as “very special relationship” – a phrase that might be painful to British ears.
But both of them are at risk of being upstaged by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who was repeatedly asked for photos by Chinese guests and responded by pulling funny faces. Asked by pool reporters about his talks with Xi, Musk replied: “It was awesome,” before secretary of state Marco Rubio led him away.
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Bessent: ‘Trump understands sensitivities around Taiwan issue’
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Donald Trump understands the sensitivities around the issue of Taiwan and will speak on the matter in the coming days.
The US president has not commented on Taiwan, the self governing island that Beijing considers its territory, nor was it mentioned in a White House statement of Trump’s meetings with Xi Jinping in Beijing today. The Chinese government, in its readout of the summit, said Xi warned Trump that the Taiwan issue could send relations down a “dangerous” path and even lead to conflict.
In an interview with CNBC, Bessent said: “President Trump understands the issues here and understands the sensitivities around all this, and anyone who has been saying otherwise does not understand the negotiating style of Donald Trump.”
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Trump invites Xi to Washington in September
Trump raises a glass to Xi, as he concludes his speech with an invitation to the White House on 24 September.
US president Donald Trump makes a toast during a state banquet hosted by Chinese president Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 06.50 EDT
Giving more examples of how close the US and China have grown over the years, Trump said Chinese people “now love basketball and blue jeans”.
He also claimed Chinese restaurants in the US today “outnumber the five largest fast food chains in the United States all combined. That’s a pretty big statement”.
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Trump said the US and China have “from the beginning … shared a deep sense of mutual respect”, giving the example of Benjamin Franklin publishing the sayings of Confucius in his colonial newspaper.
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