US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about the future of US-China relations Thursday, telling his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that ties between the two countries are poised to become “better than ever before.”
"It's an honor to be with you. It's an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before," Trump said at a meeting with Xi in Beijing.
His remarks came after Xi hosted a welcoming ceremony for the president at the Great Hall of the People, where Chinese children waved American and Chinese flags as the two leaders walked past them.
Trump said he was "particularly impressed" by the children. "They were happy, they were beautiful ...Those children were amazing."
It marked the first official visit to China by a sitting US president since Trump’s visit in 2017 during his previous term.
"We've had a fantastic relationship. We've gotten along when there were difficulties, we worked it out," Trump said.
Trump highlighted what he called a strong personal relationship with Xi, saying the two leaders had consistently managed tensions through direct communication.
“I would call you, and you would call me, and whenever we had a problem — people don’t know — whenever we had a problem, we worked it out very quickly,” he said. “And we’re going to have a fantastic future together.”
He repeatedly praised Xi’s leadership and China’s development under his rule.
“I have such respect for China, the job you’ve done. You’re a great leader,” he said. “I say it to everybody. You’re a great leader. Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true.”
Trump also emphasized the economic focus of the summit, noting that members of his delegation — including prominent business executives — were eager to expand commercial ties with China.
“They look forward to trade and doing business, and it’s going to be totally reciprocal on our behalf. So I really look very much forward to our discussion," he said, adding this was "maybe the biggest summit ever."
The Middle East conflict and Taiwan as well as trade and tariffs are high on the agenda.
Trump is accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth along with numerous CEOs of major US companies, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Tesla’s Elon Musk.
The US business delegation also includes Apple's Tim Cook, BlackRock's Larry Fink, Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, Boeing's Kelly Ortberg, Cargill's Brian Sikes, Citigroup's Jane Fraser, GE Aerospace's Larry Culp, Goldman Sachs' David Solomon, Micron's Sanjay Mehrotra and Qualcomm's Cristiano Amon.
Trump's son Eric Trump and his wife, Lara Trump, are also accompanying the president and disembarked from the plane shortly after him.
First lady Melania Trump is not accompanying the president, unlike in 2017, when the two were hosted by Xi and Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan.
Meanwhile, journalists shouted questions to Musk, Huang and Cook as they were leaving the front entrance of the Great Hall of the People.
“Wonderful,” Musk said when asked how the discussions had gone.
Pressed on what had been accomplished, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO replied: “Many good things.”
Cook gave a peace sign and then the thumbs up, according to a pool report.
Huang also offered a positive assessment of the talks.
“Meetings went well,” he said. “Mr. Xi and President Trump were incredible.”
The closed-door meeting between Trump and Xi lasted more than two hours, a White House official said.
The visit comes amid the Middle East conflict, triggered after US and Israeli forces launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, prompting retaliation against Israel and US allies in the Gulf along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A prolonged ceasefire is currently in effect.
China has reiterated calls for dialogue in the region, while Washington has accused Beijing of supporting Iran’s military and economic capabilities.
