President Trump hosted a lavish State Dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House, presenting a display of diplomatic pageantry aimed at smoothing US-China tensions. Trump emphasised their personal rapport, whilst both leaders publicly committed to collaborative engagement. However, substantive disagreements on critical issues—Iran, trade, artificial intelligence regulation, and Taiwan—remained unresolved beneath the ceremonial warmth, revealing persistent strategic fault lines between the superpowers.

The talks revealed specific points of contention. On Iran, Trump sought Chinese pressure to end the conflict, whilst Xi proposed returning to a June interim agreement that had collapsed over control of the Strait of Hormuz. On artificial intelligence, Trump advocated minimal regulation, claiming China shared his position, whereas Xi insisted AI development must remain "under human control" and serve human wellbeing. Xi also pressed Trump on Taiwan, urging "prudent handling" of the issue and reaffirming opposition to independence. The finance ministers had earlier proposed an AI "notification mechanism" for incident communication. Trump gifted Xi a bald eagle sculpture by an American artist, symbolising American freedom and strength.