Trump-Xi reunion comes with unfinished business — and a bigger battle looming
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington Wednesday evening for a summit with President Donald Trump, four months after the two leaders reached a sweeping agreement that included Chinese commitments on rare earths, agricultural purchases, trade and investment.
Trump hailed that agreement as a breakthrough for American farmers, manufacturers and workers. But the latest talks come amid uneven progress on commitments involving rare-earth minerals, agricultural and commercial purchases, trade and investment, while key disputes over tariffs, advanced technology, artificial intelligence, intellectual property and Taiwan remain unresolved.
Under the May agreement, China committed to address U.S. concerns over rare-earth supplies and purchase at least $17 billion a year in U.S. agricultural products, while also approving an initial purchase of 200 Boeing aircraft, restoring market access for American beef and resuming poultry imports. The two countries also chartered new boards on trade and investment.
Four months later, implementation has been uneven. Reuters reported that China is making progress toward finalizing its commitment to purchase 200 Boeing jets, while agricultural imports are projected to fall short of the agreed level and the new trade and investment boards are still being put into operation.
AI is expected to be a major focus of the two-day summit, along with possible tariff reductions on non-strategic goods and discussions over China’s rare-earth exports, according to a senior administration official. The May agreement, when Trump and Xi last met, also chartered new U.S.-China boards on trade and investment, though it did not resolve the broader economic and national security tensions between the two countries.
REalloys CEO Lipi Sternheim told Fox News Digital China’s dominance of the rare-earth supply chain gives Beijing leverage over U.S. defense and technology industries, warning that the Trump-Xi meeting must preserve supplies while American production ramps up.
"The fact that Trump and Xi are meeting and the main topic of the day is rare earths probably tells you and the American people all they need to know about the importance," said Sternheim.
Sternheim said the immediate goal of the Trump-Xi meeting should be to keep rare earths flowing to U.S. defense manufacturers for the next two to three years, giving American companies time to build domestic mining, processing and magnet-making capacity and reduce their dependence on China.
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He said that rare earth minerals are used to make the powerful magnets found in cellphones, electric vehicles, drones, robots and defense systems, including missiles, F-35 fighter jets, submarines and missile-defense systems.
Heavy rare earths are especially important for high-temperature applications such as missiles and space systems, but China controls most of the mining, processing and magnet-making capacity. Sternheim cautioned that shifting production to the U.S. will not happen quickly.
"You can’t build 40 years in two days," Sternheim said, adding that it will take years.
Trump touted the U.S. lead over China in artificial intelligence during an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York Tuesday, while declaring that U.S. government documents would begin referring to the technology as "superintelligence."
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"Every major new technology brings challenges, and superintelligence is no exception," said Trump. "Whoever wins superintelligence wins. That's the group that wins. And we're leading now over China by a lot and everyone else. And we're going to keep it that way."
While Trump and Xi will be in meetings, first lady Melania Trump is expected to accompany Xi’s wife Peng to the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.
The two will "explore works spanning centuries of artistic achievement and Sino-American cultural exchange."
Thursday will begin with a prestigious State Arrival Ceremony, including 479 military personnel from all branches on the South Lawn, State Floor and Rose Garden of the White House.
The day will end with a state dinner with high-profile guests, including many from the tech world.
Those guests will include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, SpaceX founder and former senior White House adviser Elon Musk, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser and Apple Board of Directors Chairman Tim Cook.
House Speaker Mike Johnson will also be in attendance, a source familiar told Fox News Digital.