From

42m ago

Trump says he and Xi have forged a 'truly great friendship'

Donald Trump is speaking now. He notes that Xi is the first Chinese leader to make a second formal visit to the White House, and says the two have “forged a truly great friendship” since Trump was first elected in 2016.

Trump points out that this is the first time he and Xi are meeting at the White House. “A lot has changed since he was last here,” he says.

Donald Trump delivering remarks at the White House, with China’s Xi Jinping behind him. Photograph: Evan Vucci/Reuters

Key events

Xi then issues an invitation for 100,000 American students to visit China in the next five years for exchange and study.

He also announces that two pandas – Ping Ping and Fu Shuang – will settle into their new home at the Atlanta zoo in the coming days.

This reminds me of China’s gift of two giant pandas to the Smithsonian national zoo in 1972, following Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Beijing in the detente era of the Cold War.

The ceremony is now over.

“Our two militaries should maintain regular dialogue,” Xi says, and the countries should aim to avoid conflict and confrontation.

“We should co-exist in peace,” Xi says, adding that competition between China and the US should be positive and kept within boundaries.

With both China and the US being leading nations in artificial intelligence, Xi says they both have the capability and responsibility to manage AI for good, and “ensure the development of AI is always under human control and serve the wellbeing of the people”.

“China keeps its door wide open and welcomes American companies who want to do business and invest there,” Xi says, adding: “We hope Chinese companies are treated fairly here in the United States”.

“The interests of China and the United States are deeply intertwined,” Xi says, adding that it would be hard to solve many of the world’s problems without the two countries co-operating with one another.

Xi says that China and the US “shoulder a historic responsibility to promote human progress” and says he is willing to work with Trump to “steer the ship of China-US ties”.

“We should strengthen communication,” he says, adding that “candid, in-depth, sustained dialogue can promote understanding and mutual trust.”

Taking to the podium, Xi says both China and the United States are “great countries” with “great peoples”.

He says he is here to “carry on our friendship, expand co-operation and promote the wellbeing of both our peoples”.

The two will also discuss “pressing issues” concerning security, technology and artificial intelligence, Trump says (though he’s still trying to make “super intelligence” happen).

He adds:

double quotation markThe decisions we make in these areas today can promote promote peace and prosperity for decades and decades to come.

Trump says he’s “very proud” of the US-China relationship, and says the two countries are working towards a “more balanced trade relationship” including “new market access for American farmers and ranchers”.

He touts new trade progress between the US and China, and says that he and Xi “have made tremendous strides on the issues facing our two countries”.