Topline
President Donald Trump hailed Xi Jinping, calling him a great leader, while the Chinese President said he believes the U.S. and China “should be partners rather than opponents,” and work together at a time when the world is at a crossroads.
President Donald Trump participates in a welcome ceremony with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People.
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Key Facts
Trump was greeted by Xi at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People after receiving a guard of honor from the Chinese military, a 21-gun salute and a group of children waving the two countries’ flags and flower bouquets.
Xi delivered the opening remarks after the two leaders sat down for the summit, noting that the world is in the midst of “turbulence and transformation,” and that the two countries must work together to “meet challenges and bring greater stability to the world.”
In his opening remarks, Trump lavished praise on Xi and said, “You’re a great leader. Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true,” and highlighted the phone calls made to each other “whenever we had a problem” and worked it out “quickly.”
Trump also boasted about the business delegation traveling with him, calling them the “biggest” and “greatest,” and claimed that he asked the top 30 to join him and “every single one” said yes.
The president added that the business leaders were here to “pay respects” to Xi and to China.
The initial remarks avoided issues about the Iran war, Taiwan, or any other key geopolitical points of tension between the two countries.
This is a developing story.