Donald and Melania Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, to the White House for tea on Friday, with the meeting briefly overshadowed by a question about China’s purchases of Iranian oil.
As the two couples posed on the South Portico, a reporter asked Mr Trump: “Mr President, did you call on President Xi to stop buying oil from Iran?”
Neither Mr Trump nor Mr Xi responded as they stood side by side, both looking straight ahead.
The question highlighted a major point of tension between Washington and Beijing. China buys more than 80 per cent of Iran’s seaborne oil exports and has resisted pressure from Mr Trump to use its influence with Tehran to help end the conflict, which has lasted almost seven months.
Later, the two leaders sat down with their wives in the White House’s Red Room. Despite the unresolved disagreements between the two countries, they struck a positive tone as they addressed reporters.
Mr Xi described his first visit to Washington in 11 years as highly successful, saying: “I see a brighter China-US future.”
Mr Trump said the two sides had “made tremendous strides” and added: “Our farmers are going to be very happy.”
The only publicly disclosed concrete outcome from the summit so far is an agreement to extend a trade truce by two months. The arrangement had been due to expire on November 10.
Beijing has previously pledged to buy at least 17 billion dollars’ worth of American agricultural goods each year through 2028, as well as 25 million metric tonnes of US soybeans annually. It was not clear which commitment Mr Trump was referring to.
Mr Xi is also seeking an end to American arms sales to Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island claimed by Beijing. Taiwan has become an even more significant focus in the competition over artificial intelligence because it produces about 90 per cent of the world’s most advanced computer chips.
Following the White House tea, Mr Trump and the first lady were due to accompany the Chinese president and Peng Liyuan to the National Archives, where they were expected to view historic American founding documents.
The Chinese couple were due to return later to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for their flight home, concluding the three-day state visit.
