As the Chinese leader returns to Washington for his first White House meeting in more than a decade, the two presidents turn to trade, artificial intelligence, technology, and security while activists spotlight China’s political prisoners.
WASHINGTON — Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for his first White House meeting in more than a decade amid protests highlighting human rights abuses under his regime.
U.S. President Donald Trump, meeting Xi for the second time this year, said the United States and China have been working toward a more balanced trade relationship.
The two leaders are set to discuss pressing issues ranging from artificial intelligence and technology to security during a closed-door meeting. Trump said the decisions made during the talks could have consequences for decades to come. In an earlier social media post, he said there were no plans for new AI guardrails with China.
While Trump described his relationship with Xi as a “truly great friendship,” the Chinese leader placed greater emphasis on geopolitical issues, including access for Chinese companies to the U.S. market.
Xi also invoked the “Thucydides trap,” a term describing the danger of conflict when a rising power threatens to displace an established one. He said the United States and China could find a way to “get along.”
Xi last referred to the concept in May during a meeting with Trump in Beijing, appearing to suggest that the United States was a declining power confronting China’s rise.
Trump said at the time that Xi was referring to the country his predecessor, Joe Biden, had left behind.
Since 2020, Xi has repeatedly used the phrase “the East is rising, the West is declining,” referring to what he describes as a shift in the global order.
Xi suggested that public sentiment, particularly among younger generations, is key to overcoming the trap. He announced an invitation for 100,000 young Americans to visit China over the next five years for exchanges or study.
In two days, two pandas will also arrive at Zoo Atlanta, Xi said, describing them as an “envoy of friendship.”
Panda loans and cultural exchanges are among the devices China uses to project soft power and improve its global image.
But activists are seeking to draw attention to another side of China.
Hours after Xi arrived in the District of Columbia, a human rights group projected the faces of Chinese political prisoners at multiple locations across the district. The organizers said thousands of such individuals are currently imprisoned in China and should be free.
