习近平十一年来首访华盛顿：隆重欢迎、一对大熊猫，和延长两个月的贸易休战

From September 23 to 25, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a three-day state visit to the United States.

It was his first formal visit to Washington in eleven years, returning President Trump's visit to China in May.

It was the first time in the history of China-US relations that the two heads of state had made state visits to each other in the same year.

On the 23rd, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan arrived on a special flight at Joint Base Andrews near Washington.

Trump and First Lady Melania met them in person on the tarmac, with a red carpet, a military band and a 21-gun salute, as two bombers flew overhead.

It's very unusual for an American president to meet a foreign leader at the airport in person.

On the morning of the 24th, the White House held a formal welcome ceremony.

Trump said that since his first election in 2016, he and Xi had built a truly great friendship.

Xi said he was ready to work with Trump to steer the great ship of China-US relations toward a stable future.

He said China and the US are different, but through candid, in-depth and continued dialogue the two countries can understand each other better.

On artificial intelligence, he said both countries have the ability and the responsibility to make AI do good, and to keep it under human control at all times.

He also offered a comparison: competition between the two countries should be like a race, each chasing the other, everyone running forward together.

It shouldn't be like a gladiator fight, where if one side wins, the other loses.

The two leaders then held talks in the Oval Office.

According to Xinhua, Xi asked the US side in the talks to oppose "Taiwan independence," and called for reconciliation between the US and Iran.

That evening the White House held a state banquet; guests included the US vice president, many cabinet secretaries and Supreme Court justices, as well as the heads of big companies such as Nvidia, Apple, Tesla and Amazon.

While guests waited for the two leaders' remarks, a harpist played "The Moon Represents My Heart," because the Mid-Autumn Festival was coming.

In his toast, Trump said relations between the two countries had never been better.

On the 25th, the two leaders had tea in the White House Red Room, then visited the National Archives together to see the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.

Trump said: ours goes back two hundred and fifty years, theirs six thousand — there's a bit of a difference between the two.

After the visit, China's foreign ministry published the eight-point consensus reached by China and the US; let's go through it point by point.

First, the two sides agreed to build a stable relationship based on mutual respect, fairness and reciprocity.

Second, China is hosting this year's APEC meeting and the US is hosting the G20 summit; each country supports the other, and both leaders will attend.

Third, on Iran, the two leaders agreed that Iran should keep its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, and that no country may charge ships for passing through international waterways.

Fourth, the two sides recalled the history of the Second World War, when China and the US were allies who won the war together.

Fifth, on the economy and trade, the two sides agreed to set up a trade council and reached a thirty-billion-dollar reciprocal tariff-cut arrangement.

US Treasury Secretary Bessent announced that the trade truce reached last year in Busan, South Korea, would be extended by two months from November 10, to January 10 next year.

Sixth, the two countries are fighting drugs together; working jointly, they have recently cracked several cases and arrested dozens of suspects in both countries.

Seventh, the two sides agreed to set up an AI dialogue to discuss AI's risks and benefits, with the next round this November.

The two countries will also set up a communication channel so that if something goes wrong with AI, they can contact each other right away.

Eighth, China is lending a pair of giant pandas to Zoo Atlanta, and the US side welcomed them.

As planned, the two leaders will meet twice more this year: at the APEC meeting in Shenzhen in November, and at the G20 summit in Miami in December.

But views of the visit inside the US are divided.

James Lindsay, a scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations, believes the visit will extend the current truce without producing any major new agreements.

American financial media concluded that the summit was big on spectacle and light on substance.

On Taiwan, China's imports of Iranian oil and the Russia-Ukraine war, clear differences between the two sides remain.

In addition, because the White House had earlier barred some news outlets, media coverage of the visit was also restricted.

A single visit can use a grand welcome to bring two sides a little closer, but it can hardly resolve many years of differences in one go.

In your view, what do two great powers need more: frequent meetings, or concrete agreements?