Five questions hanging over Trump’s meeting with Xi

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GOP candidates break with Trump on unpopular Iran War

GOP candidates break with Trump on unpopular Iran War

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Chinese President Xi Jinping is meeting with President Trump today for high-stakes talks that could touch on several points of tension between their countries, including artificial intelligence and weapons shipments to Taiwan.

The state visit is Xi’s first to the U.S. in a decade, coming just four months after Trump’s own visit to China in May. The pair of global leaders appeared to improve relations during that summit, though there were few signs of progress on a trade deal.

The world will be watching closely to see if the pomp and pageantry leads to any breakthroughs this time around.

Here’s five questions surrounding Trump’s meeting with Xi:

Will Trump, Xi agree to AI hotline?

The rising fears around the growth of AI have added to the anticipation around the superpower summit, with members of both parties expressing concern about the technology getting out of control.

Trump’s approach to the concerns has largely been to brush them aside, emphasizing that the U.S. must win an AI arms race with China, which is viewed as the U.S.’s top competitor. One safeguard that the administration seems to be open to is the creation of an AI hotline to establish a point of cooperation between the U.S. and China.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters Sunday that the U.S. had proposed a “notification mechanism” for the countries to share when an AI incident happens that could affect national security. The proposal is reminiscent of the “red phone” that the U.S. and Soviet Union used to communicate in emergency situations during the Cold War.

“We want a shared vision of common goals and common threats,” Bessent said after talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York. “We think that just like any cross-border activity, that moving from opaque to more transparency between the No. 1 and the No. 2 AI powers in the world is very important.”

Given Trump’s resistance to AI regulation and interest in one-upping China, the hotline may be the best hope for concrete cooperation, at least for now.

Will there be progress on a broader trade deal?

Just ahead of the meeting between Trump and Xi, Bessent announced Wednesday that officials agreed on an extension of their trade truce into January.

Trump and Xi reached an agreement last October to ease tensions of the trade war between their nations, but they were unable to make progress on a broader deal during the May summit in Beijing.

The truce was set to expire on Nov. 10. Under the truce, the Trump administration agreed to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods, while China agreed to delay export controls on rare earths and resume some soybean purchases.

An agreement to extend the current terms staves off the resumption of a full-scale trade war like what the U.S. is currently facing with Canada. But the true prize would be a comprehensive trade agreement to settle tensions for the long term, which has proven elusive so far.

Bessent raised some doubts about the potential of achieving a wider deal during a Fox News interview Wednesday.

“I don’t know whether a bigger deal can be done. I don’t know whether we will just roll the current deal,” he said, noting the extension could give leaders more time to negotiate.

Will Trump call out China’s support for Iran?

The president has been eager for any development that can shake up the stalemate that’s been in place in the Iran conflict for months, and his meeting with Xi may be a prime opportunity to try.

Trump has repeatedly urged countries around the world to sever economic ties with Tehran.

Bessent issued a global warning in August telling countries with any financial ties to Iran to cut off the regime or risk being cut off from the U.S. dollar system. He didn’t call out any specific countries at the time, but China remains Iran’s largest trading partner and primary destination for its oil exports.

The administration had earlier sanctioned Chinese entities processing Iranian oil. China denounced Bessent’s announcement as only further inflaming tensions, a sign of how any push from Trump may play with Beijing.

The president also has a new weapon to use against China, after signing into law a tariffs and sanctions bill named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) earlier this month. The bill gives him authorities to punish countries doing the most trade with Russia, including China.

Will Trump back down on arming Taiwan?

The status of Taiwan is a perennial issue any time that U.S. and Chinese leaders meet, and eyes will be on whether Trump signals any shift in U.S. posture on arming the island against a potential Chinese invasion.

Beijing has long pushed for the U.S. to recognize Taiwan as part of China, considering it to be awaiting reunification with mainland China. The U.S. is pledged under federal law to provide Taiwan with support in the event of any invasion but keeps its plans ambiguous on whether it would defend the island itself.

Possible new arms funding to Taiwan hangs........

© The Hill