Chinese President Xi Jinping will depart the United States today after a final stop at the National Archives, concluding a two-and-a-half day summit with President Donald Trump. The White House described the visit as a viewing of records and documents significant to the American and Chinese relationship throughout history. Before the departure, the two heads of state and their spouses met for morning tea in the White House Red Room. Trump will bid Xi farewell at the Archives, which houses foundational documents including the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.
The summit began on Thursday with a state arrival ceremony featuring military honors, a review of troops, and a flyover by a B2 stealth bomber accompanied by four fighter jets. Bi-lateral talks between Trump and the Chinese delegation lasted several hours from late morning into the early afternoon, followed by private discussions in the Oval Office. During a tour of the White House, Trump showed Xi the Presidential Walk of Fame, where he had installed an image of an autopen in place of former President Joe Biden’s headshot. Footage on social media showed both leaders laughing at the display.
Protests against Chinese oppression continued outside the White House gates throughout the day. Fox News Digital reported that chants of "Free Hong Kong" and "Xi Jinping, you’re not welcome" drowned out parts of the state dinner that evening. A White House official told Fox News Digital before the visit that Trump would explore a wide-ranging deal on tariff reductions for non-strategic goods. The discussion agenda also included rare-earth exports, export controls, and fentanyl precursor chemical exports.
Trump characterized the meeting as "great" but did not elaborate or take questions from the press. Xi announced that China would send two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, to Zoo Atlanta under a conservation agreement. He also invited 100,000 young Americans to visit China for exchanges and study over the next five years.
The state dinner officially began at 8:00 p.m., with Trump offering a toast to peace and prosperity for both nations. Guests included cabinet officials, their spouses, and prominent figures from industry. The attendance list featured Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon; Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and former head of the Department of Government Efficiency; Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google; Michael Dell, chief executive of Dell Technologies; Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia; Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI; Jane Fraser, chief executive of Citigroup; and Tim Cook, chairman of Apple’s board of directors. The presence of American artificial intelligence leaders highlighted AI dominance as a key issue in the U.S.-China technological race.