Trump Welcomes Xi to White House for Trade-Focused Summit — SkimNews
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- Trump welcomed Xi at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday evening — the first US president to greet a foreign leader there in 11 years — with Thursday's ceremony set to span the South Lawn, State Floor and Rose Garden.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced after talks with Vice Premier He Lifeng that both sides agreed to extend a trade truce until January 10, pausing mutual tariffs that had topped 100%.
- Xi is expected to press Trump to halt Taiwan arms sales during a planned Friday visit to the National Archives; in return China is offering to help pressure Iran, according to sources briefed on plans.
- Trump suspended a roughly $14 billion Taiwan arms package after the May summit, calling it a "very good negotiating chip."
- US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said China is making progress on a commitment to buy 200 Boeing aircraft and that announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers are coming.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there is "nascent thinking" about a Cold War-style hotline to prevent dangerous AI-related incidents between the two countries.
Why it matters: The summit's biggest concrete deliverable — extending the trade truce to January 10 — averts a snap-back of tariffs that topped 100%, giving exporters and consumers temporary relief while leaving Taiwan, AI export controls and the Iran war unresolved. Trump personally benefits from the pageantry ahead of the midterms.
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