Xi wraps up US visit, hopes for brighter prospects for ties; very happy, says Trump

WASHINGTON: China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday wrapped up his three-day visit to the US, asserting that his talks with President Donald Trump had added “new substance” to the China-US relationship and hoped for “more brighter prospects”.

Trump and Xi continued their discussions over tea at the White House on Friday morning, where the US leader said China and the US had achieved “tremendous strides” during the visit that would make American farmers “very happy”.

Xi said he looked forward to meeting Trump on two more occasions this year – at the APEC Summit in China and the G20 Summit in the US.

“I do welcome Mr President and the First Lady to visit China,” Xi said in the meeting in the Red Room in the White House.

The US First Lady Melania Trump and China’s first lady Peng Liyuan shared a sofa underneath a Hudson River School painting, with Xi and Trump sitting in their own chairs. Tea and small plates of treats were on the coffee table between them.

“The president and I are like two people charting the course for the great ship of China-US relations. When the president visited China in May, we agreed on the vision of building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability,” Xi said.

“This time, we've agreed to add a new substance to it. The relationship will be a constructive one of strategic stability on the basis of respect, fairness, and reciprocity,” the Chinese leader said in brief remarks to the media.

“So, from this one can see that the prospects for this relationship will get more brighter,” Xi said.

Trump and Xi visited the National Archives, where the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are held.

"We're just comparing. Ours goes 250 years. Which is great, and we're proud of. Theirs goes 6,000 years. So there's a little difference between 6,000 and 250. But we're very proud of our 250," Trump said after he showed Xi the Declaration of Independence.

There has been no announcement of outcomes from the visit as yet. However, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the US and China have reached agreements covering a subset of goods the two countries can trade on more favourable terms.

“We’ve actually reached agreement with the Chinese on a number of these things,” Greer said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” referring to goods including US agricultural products and medical devices and Chinese consumer goods considered non-sensitive.

Greer said the Trump administration plans to release “a lot more details” Monday.

The US president, perhaps, had these developments in mind when he said American farmers will be “very happy” over Xi’s visit.

“I think our farmers are going to be very happy. A lot of very positive things happened. But America's very happy about this visit, and I'm sure China is very happy also. Great things for both countries, and it's been just very, very productive,” Trump said.

Xi arrived here on Wednesday evening for a three-day visit that began with a rare planeside welcome by Trump. The two leaders met over two hours at the White House on Thursday and were together again at the state dinner hosted by Trump in Xi’s honour.

A Chinese readout on the meetings said that the economic and trade teams of the two sides reached a new joint arrangement, which is good news for both the industries and people of the two countries and even the world economy.

“Cooperation is a two-way street. To keep the economic and trade ties stable, the list of cooperation needs to be lengthened, and the list of issues shortened,” a Chinese foreign ministry statement said.

President Xi pointed out that both China and the US have strong AI capabilities.

“They may have competition, but they may cooperate even more. The right thing to do is to draw on each other’s strengths, not guard against each other,” the statement said.

The Chinese leader said AI must be kept under human control and pitched for the continuation of dialogue on its risks and benefits and joint prevention of misuse and abuse.

“A people-centred approach should be upheld, and AI should be developed for the positive and for good, so that AI will serve the progress of humanity,” the statement said.

The New York Times reported that the visit has so far been heavy on pageantry and produced little in terms of policy announcements.