Trump takes Xi Jinping to National Archives as state visit ends
US President Donald Trump will take Chinese President Xi Jinping to the National Archives on Friday as the Chinese leader wraps up a three-day state visit to Washington. The visit, criticised for being heavy on pomp and light on substance, comes after the two leaders projected harmony between the world’s two largest economies but made no major breakthroughs on issues such as trade or the safety of artificial intelligence.
Xi is expected to leave Washington after touring the vault that holds the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Trump said on Thursday that, as the US marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, he wanted to show Xi “some of the greatest treasures of that proud history”.
Xi said he expected to meet Trump twice more this year. He invited Trump and first lady Melania Trump to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November, and noted that they could meet again a month later at the G20 summit at the Trump National Doral Miami golf club in Florida. “We do welcome Mr. President and the first lady to visit China,” Xi said. Trump replied, “We will, and we’ll be speaking a lot.” Trump, a Republican, has been seeking to portray Democrats as communists ahead of the November midterm elections, a message complicated by the red-carpet treatment he has given Xi this week.
The National Archives is hosting a special semiquincentennial exhibit, “The American Story”, highlighting the country’s achievements and advances, along with images of its darker moments. Trump said he also wanted to show Xi artefacts about ties between the two countries. “Just as our ancestors reached across the ocean centuries ago to trade, to learn, and to build a better world, our two countries do really the same thing, and we’re very proud of it,” he said. Trump had already shown Xi a copy of the Declaration of Independence on Thursday, using a wall-mounted copy he keeps in the Oval Office.
Xi began the day at the White House, where Trump and Melania Trump hosted him and his wife, Peng Liyuan, for tea. Their visit coincides with China’s Mid-Autumn Festival, a national holiday when families traditionally gather to mark the end of the harvest and share mooncakes over tea. On Thursday night, the Trumps hosted a black-tie state dinner attended by technology industry leaders. Earlier, Trump gave Xi a personal tour of the White House, showing him a gallery wall of presidents, a new 100-foot-long granite helicopter landing pad, and his ballroom, which is still under construction. Melania Trump and Peng toured the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.
The two leaders also held a 90-minute closed-door meeting on Thursday. According to the official Chinese government readout, they discussed the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, while the White House did not release details of the private talks. The visit ends on Friday with Trump showing Xi the founding documents of the United States after a trip marked by ceremony, public warmth and limited movement on key issues.
