When Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on Wednesday night, US President Donald Trump gave him a warm and unusually lavish welcome.
President Trump visited Joint Base Andrews near Washington and greeted President Xi on the tarmac. This is the first time a U.S. president has greeted a foreign leader in this way since 1962, when John F. Kennedy welcomed British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.
Although the meeting between Mr. Xi and Mr. Trump did not result in any major changes in the relationship other than extending the fragile trade war truce for another two months, Washington arranged for hours of pomp, a more lavish and lavish tour for Mr. Xi’s aides, and praise for the Chinese president and his wife.
But the warmth shown in Washington this week stands in stark contrast to the words President Trump has used in the past to characterize the Chinese government and Mr. Xi. Map how the language of communication and larger relationships have changed over the decade.
How has President Trump talked about China in the past?
Here are some examples of how President Trump has responded to Xi and China.
“Cheating”: August 2012
“It’s no surprise that China was caught cheating at the Olympics. That’s China’s MO: Lie, cheat, and steal in every international transaction,” President Trump wrote on Twitter (now known as X).
“Please take me to McDonald’s”: July 2015
“If you’re smart, you can beat China,” Trump said at a campaign event in South Carolina. “But our people have no idea. We’re giving state dinners to the leaders of China. Why are we doing state dinners for them? I said, ‘They’re ripping us off left and right. Take them to McDonald’s and get back to the negotiating table.’
“Enemy”: 2015
In his book, “Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again,” President Trump writes, “Some people wish I wouldn’t call China the enemy, but that’s who they are. They have stolen tens of thousands of jobs, spied on our businesses, stolen our technology, and manipulated and devalued our currencies, making it more expensive and in some cases impossible to import our products.
“Rape our country”: May 2016
“We cannot continue to allow China to rape our country, and that is what they are doing. This is the greatest theft in the history of the world,” President Trump said at a campaign rally in Indiana.
“Fooled Us”: September 2020
At a Labor Day press conference at the White House, President Trump said, “…no country has preyed on us more than China over time. We’ve lost billions of dollars doing business with China, and they’re taking that money and building their military.”
“Damn America”: April 2025
As the US-China trade war escalates, President Trump told reporters, “I don’t blame China at all (for the billions of dollars the United States has lost in trade with China).” I don’t blame President Xi. I like him. he likes me who knows? Frankly, who cares? …I don’t blame China. I don’t blame Vietnam. No – they seem to be meeting today. Not really – it’s a lovely encounter. They seem to be getting together to figure out, “How can we screw up the United States of America?”
Why has Mr. Trump changed his stance now?
“Great gentleman.”
“Very good business relationship.”
“It’s a really great friendship.”
These are just some of the phrases President Trump used this week to describe Mr. Xi and the Chinese government.
This week’s state visit will be the first by a Chinese leader to the United States in 11 years. But it will be the third direct meeting between Trump and Xi in less than a year, as the two powers remain at an uneasy stalemate over competition over AI development, access to rare earth metals, the Taiwan issue and the war with Iran.
Overshadowing everything is a paused but smoldering trade war between the two countries.
Early in his second term in the White House, President Trump accused China of facilitating the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl into the United States and raised tariffs on Chinese products. The Chinese government responded with its own taxes and restricted exports of valuable rare earth metals, which are essential to the development and manufacturing of everything from smartphones to fighter jets.
Tariffs peaked at 150% on both sides and were suspended last October to allow time for talks.
But nearly a year after the two countries called for a temporary ceasefire, analysts say the US position is not as strong as China’s.
trade deficit
First, despite President Trump’s ambitions to reduce trade deficits with other countries through tariff policy, the gap between China and the United States is widening and does not favor the United States.
Washington’s overall trade deficit remains stagnant and has actually increased in some quarters. The U.S. had a total goods trade deficit of about $277 billion from May to July 2025, according to Census Bureau data. The deficit for the same period in 2026 increased by 17.4% to $325 billion.
Meanwhile, Beijing has been accumulating profits. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s total merchandise exports increased by 6.1% in 2025, reaching approximately $3.77 trillion. As of August this year, China’s trade surplus in goods was about $820 billion, and it is already approaching the huge 2025 full-year surplus of about $1.2 trillion.
The equation is that bilateral trade between the U.S. and China has been in near-free fall over the past two years, just as the U.S. national debt reached a record $40 billion this year, two years ahead of expectations.
“Washington is playing a high-stakes game of economic chicken with $40 trillion in debt, an inflationary Sword of Damocles, zero fiscal cushion to absorb the collapse of the ceasefire, and dependence on Chinese industrial and manufacturing inputs,” Einar Tangen, a senior fellow at the Beijing-based Center for International Governance Innovation, told Al Jazeera.
“With the federal budget already functioning like a wire pyramid scheme, it will be difficult for U.S. consumers and the broader economy to weather another inflationary shock from another tariff hike,” he added.
President Trump cannot afford to let the trade ceasefire collapse now.
rare earth minerals
The second is China’s ace card: rare earth metals. They are used to make everything from smartphones to fighter jets, so they are critical to advances in AI and defense. China has 60 percent of the world’s known deposits of these minerals and processes 90 percent of them. During last year’s trade war, China restricted exports of seven out of 12 products in April and threatened to restrict five more before the ceasefire was delayed.
China therefore has enormous influence, and observers say President Trump has little choice but to show goodwill.
What were the main outcomes of the summit meeting between Mr. Xi and President Trump?
The bottom line is that the talks in Washington demonstrated the potential for bilateral relations between the two countries, rather than a grand deal in the making. Although the trade ceasefire has been extended, major strategic disputes remain unresolved, including the issue of Taiwan, the war with Iran, and tensions over trade and technology.
Trade ceasefire extended: The United States and China agreed to extend an existing trade ceasefire that was set to expire in November, giving negotiators time to work toward a broader agreement. The extension period is until January 10th.
No breakthrough on Iran: President Trump wanted to use its influence over Tehran to help China isolate Iran economically and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. No breakthroughs were reported.
Taiwan remains unresolved: Xi urged President Trump to oppose Taiwan’s independence and handle the Taiwan issue “carefully,” China’s Xinhua news agency reported. The White House has not yet commented on this. However, a second $14 billion arms deal between the United States and Taiwan remains on hold, following an $11 billion sale announced last December.
Promoting stable relations: Both leaders expressed their desire to prevent further deterioration of relations. President Xi called for competition to be kept “within limits” and warned against the “Thucydides Trap” of conflict between rising and established powers.
AI competition: Ahead of the talks, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US government is proposing an AI “notification mechanism” to China, a hotline to alert each other when AI incidents threaten national security.
