Xi says he expects to see Trump again as he wraps Washington visit with a peek at the Constitution
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his state visit to Washington on Friday by announcing that he expects to meet President Donald Trump two more times before the end of the year, doubling the number of face-to-face discussions between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies in 2026.
The promise of more meetings to come capped off a three-day state visit that has been criticized by some in the U.S. for being heavy on pomp and light on substance. The two leaders have made a show of working to preserve harmony, though there were no major breakthroughs this week on issues such as trade or the safety of artificial intelligence.
Xi extended an invitation for Trump and first lady Melania Trump to go to 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 responded, “We will, and we’ll be speaking a lot.”
Trump on Friday was taking Xi to visit the National Archives, showing off the sacred texts of U.S. democracy to the leader of the world’s most powerful communist country.
Xi is expected to depart Washington after touring the nation's vault of records, where the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are held.
Trump, a Republican, has been seeking to demonize Democrats as communists during the run-up to the November midterm elections, a message that has been muddied by the red-carpet treatment he has given Xi this week.
The visit comes as the U.S. celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, and Trump said Thursday that he wanted to show Xi “some of the greatest treasures of that proud history.”
The Archives has a special exhibit marking the semiquincentennial, titled “The American Story,” which highlights the country’s accomplishments and advances, along with images depicting its darker moments.
Trump showed Xi one copy of the Declaration of Independence on Thursday — a wall-mounted copy he keeps in the Oval Office.
The U.S. president also said he wanted to show Xi artifacts about the relationship 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.
Xi's day began at the White House, where Trump and the first lady hosted the Chinese leader and his wife, Peng Liyuan, for tea in the White House’s Red Room.
Their visit falls during China’s Mid-Autumn Festival, a national holiday when families traditionally gather to celebrate the end of harvest, sharing mooncakes, round pastries filled with a sweet paste, over tea.
Xi thanked the Trumps for the visit. "The highest courtesies, the most meticulous arrangements,” Xi said in Chinese. “This visit is very successful, and we also feel very satisfied.”
Trump grinned when an interpreter relayed what Xi had said.
“We’ve had a tremendous visit from two spectacular people, and we really enjoyed it, and I think we’ve made tremendous strides,” Trump said. “We’ve made great strides, very positive for both countries.”
The Trumps feted their guests Thursday night with a black-tie state dinner attended by technology industry titans. Earlier in the day, Trump gave Xi a personal tour of his White House flourishes, including a gallery wall of presidents and a new 100-foot-long (30-meter-long) granite helicopter landing pad — and pointed out his ballroom, still under construction. Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan toured the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.
The two leaders also met behind closed doors for 90 minutes on Thursday, when they discussed issues such as the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, according to the official Chinese government readout of the meeting. The White House has not provided any information about the private talks.
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This story has been corrected to show the anniversary is the semiquincentennial, not the sesquicentennial.
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AP writers Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and Didi Tang and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.
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