Trump hails 'very productive' Xi meeting as Chinese leader ends US visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up a three-day visit to Washington on Friday, closing out a trip that included talks on trade and artificial intelligence but produced no announced breakthroughs, according to The National News Desk.

President Donald Trump described the discussions in upbeat terms, writing on Truth Social Friday morning that he had held a "very productive meeting with President Xi for both the U.S.A. and China." Trump added that "tremendous things will be happening," and noted that Xi appeared receptive to referring to artificial intelligence as "super intelligence," a term Trump argued better captures the technology's significance.

Xi's final day in the capital began with a tea reception at the White House, where Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomed the Chinese leader and his wife, Peng Liyuan. The couples then traveled to the National Archives, where Xi viewed the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The stop coincided with the United States marking the 250th anniversary of its founding, and Trump had said a day earlier that he wanted to share "some of the greatest treasures" of American history with his counterpart, including a copy of the Declaration of Independence displayed in the Oval Office.

Trump also framed the visit as a continuation of a long-running exchange between the two nations, saying both countries have historically reached across the ocean "to trade, to learn, and to build a better world," and that the United States takes pride in that relationship.

The visit's centerpiece events took place Thursday. Trump hosted a formal black-tie state dinner that drew technology industry figures, including OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman. Earlier that day, Xi took part in a private tour of the White House grounds that featured a flyover by a B-2 stealth bomber and a demonstration by the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon. While the two leaders met, Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan visited the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art.

Trump and Xi also held a 90-minute private conversation on Thursday that touched on the Middle East, the war in Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, according to an official readout released by the Chinese government. The White House has not issued its own account of what was discussed during that session, leaving some details of the conversation unconfirmed on the American side.

Despite the extensive itinerary and Trump's positive characterization of the talks, neither government announced specific agreements on trade or artificial intelligence policy by the end of the visit. The trip nonetheless underscored ongoing engagement between Washington and Beijing on both economic and technological fronts, areas that have remained points of tension between the two countries in recent years.

Xi's stop in Washington marks one of the more high-profile diplomatic exchanges between the U.S. and China this year, combining ceremonial elements tied to American history with substantive discussions on global security issues and emerging technology, according to The National News Desk.