Xi urges Trump to oppose Taiwan independence, cooperate on AI at summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump met at the White House on Thursday for a summit dominated by Taiwan, trade and AI, with Xi urging Washington to oppose Taiwanese independence and handle the issue “with prudence.”

Xi also called for cooperation to prevent the misuse of AI and keep the technology under human control, a stance that appeared to contrast with Trump's resistance to additional regulation or guardrails on the technology, even as both leaders called for continued dialogue on AI.

China's position on safeguarding national reunification and territorial integrity is clear, Xi said during the meeting, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout carried by Xinhua News Agency. He urged Washington to maintain the “correct position” of opposing Taiwan independence and handle the Taiwan issue “with prudence.”

Doing so would “lay a solid foundation for China-U.S. strategic cooperation and the development of bilateral relations,” Xi said, framing U.S. adherence to the one-China policy as the basis for improving ties.

The Taiwan issue had been expected to feature prominently in the summit. Ahead of Xi's visit, reports indicated that Beijing was likely to press Washington to halt arms sales to Taiwan, although the Chinese readout did not specify whether Xi raised arms sales during the meeting.

Trade was another major focus, with Xi welcoming what he described as a new arrangement reached by the two countries' economic and trade teams.

“The economic and trade teams of the two countries held a new round of consultations and reached a new joint arrangement, which is good news for industries and people of both countries, as well as the global economy,” Xi said to Trump, according to Xinhua.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters after the summit that the two sides agreed to extend their trade truce, which was due to expire in November, by another two months. It remained unclear from the Chinese readout whether the agreement Xi referred to was the two-month extension or a separate deal.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry separately quoted Trump as saying that the two countries' economic and trade teams had held fresh negotiations and achieved new results.

“Cooperation is a two-way street,” Xi said. “A stable China-U.S. economic and trade relationship requires both expanding the list of cooperation, and shortening the list of problems.”

Xi repeatedly stressed reciprocity, arguing that differences could be resolved if the two countries approached negotiations on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit. He called on both sides to move toward each other and pursue “mutual benefit and win-win results” to achieve sustained and stable improvement in economic and trade relations.

The remarks come as disagreements persist over U.S. restrictions on Chinese investment. Washington has restricted Chinese-linked investment in strategic sectors including technology, critical infrastructure, health care, agriculture and energy on national security grounds, while Chinese auto and battery companies face significant barriers to expanding production in the United States.

That issue also surfaced during Xi's remarks at the welcoming ceremony earlier in the day, when he invited U.S. investment in China while calling on Washington to treat Chinese companies fairly.

Beyond trade, Xi called to keep their broader strategic rivalry in check, saying competition should remain within appropriate bounds, differences should be managed and both countries should work toward peaceful coexistence.

AI emerged as another major point of discussion, with Xi acknowledging competition between the two countries while arguing that the technology offered even greater room for cooperation.

“China and the United States are both major AI powers,” Xi said. He noted that both countries compete in AI but that “they have even more reasons to cooperate.”

Rather than remaining wary of each other, the countries should capitalize on their respective strengths, continue dialogue over AI's risks and benefits and work together to prevent its misuse and abuse, Xi said.

“The two sides should maintain human control over AI technologies, uphold a people-centered approach and the principle of using AI for good, and ensure that AI serves human progress,” Xi said. Xi had made a similar call for AI to remain under human control in his public remarks earlier in the day.

The issue had drawn particular attention ahead of the summit, with executives at leading AI developers warning of risks from systems that humans may eventually struggle to control, with some calling for a slowdown in development. Xi did not specify what form U.S.-China cooperation or dialogue on AI should take, but his remarks suggested concern about the potential dangers posed by the technology.

Trump has dismissed warnings that AI could threaten humanity as a “scam” and “conspiracy” in past remarks and opposed additional restrictions that could slow its development.

“I want to leave it exactly where it is. That is China's position also. Our guardrail is the DOJ [Department of Justice],” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier on Thursday, reiterating his opposition to additional AI regulation or safeguards.

During the summit, however, Trump described AI as an issue related to “the future of humanity” and called for the United States and China to maintain dialogue and strengthen cooperation on the technology, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The leaders also exchanged views on major international and regional issues, including the Middle East, the war in Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, without providing details.

The closed-door talks lasted about 90 minutes according to the White House press pool. Xi arrived at the White House at 10:07 a.m. local time and departed at 1:29 p.m.

The two governments agreed to issue separate accounts of the summit, with Beijing releasing its readout first. The Chinese statement did not indicate whether the leaders discussed several issues of particular interest to Washington, including expanding Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products, rare-earth supplies, reciprocal tariff reductions on nonsensitive goods and the release of Americans detained in China.

Asked about the talks afterward, Trump offered few details, telling reporters only that it had been “a very good meeting.”

BY YOO JEE-HYE [[email protected]]