Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up a three-day state visit to Washington with progress on trade, discussions on artificial intelligence and foreign policy, but with no major new agreements between the world’s two largest economies.
President Donald Trump said they had a really great meeting, great for everybody, great for the farmers, great for everybody. Chinese President Xi Jinping said he will meet President Donald Trump two more times before the end of the year, doubling the number of face-to-face discussions between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies in 2026.
The most concrete outcome came on trade, where the United States and China agreed to extend their current trade truce for another two months.
The extension keeps the truce in place into January while negotiations continue. U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods had climbed as high as 145%, while China tightened restrictions on exports of rare-earth materials critical to electronics, advanced manufacturing and other high-tech products.
Artificial intelligence was another major topic during the visit, and no major new AI agreement was announced. Xi said the United States and China share a responsibility to work together on the technology and ensure it remains under human control.
The United States has also proposed creating a mechanism through which the two countries could alert one another about dangerous AI incidents with national security implications.
Foreign policy discussions included the ongoing war with Iran. Trump said he and Xi discussed the conflict, but no breakthrough was announced. Taiwan also remains one of the most sensitive sources of tension between Washington and Beijing.
Despite those unresolved issues, Trump repeatedly emphasised his personal relationship with Xi, describing it as a truly great friendship.
Some trade analysts say few tangible accomplishments seemed to have come from the meeting. Little was announced outside of the promise of more meetings between Washington and Beijing.
The three-day state visit by Xi has been criticised by some in the U.S. for being heavy on pomp and light on substance.