Closing summary
This concludes our live coverage of the day in US politics, but our colleagues in Australia will be back soon with updates on the final day Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing. Here are the latest developments:
Democrats on the House oversight committee called on Howard Lutnick to resign, following the commerce secretary’s testimony about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex-offender Donald Trump socialized with for nearly two decades.
Lawmakers in Louisiana voted to eliminate a majority-Black congressional district, giving Republicans a chance to win an additional House seat in midterm elections.
California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, denounced the redistricting in the former confederate states. “This is Jim Crow 2.0, it’s sick. Stone-cold racism on a scale I never thought I’d see in my lifetime,” Newsom said. “It was jaw-dropping” what Louisiana’s governor did, he added. “He suspended a primary election where tens of thousands of people had already voted. Why? To redistrict two districts, to eliminate Black representation.”
The US House ethics committee announced an investigation of alleged sexual harassment by a Republican congressman from North Carolina, Chuck Edwards.
A war powers resolution, directing the US president, Donald Trump, “to remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran”, failed to pass the House of Representatives on Thursday by a single vote.
The US supreme court upheld nationwide access to mail-order mifepristone, an abortion medication, in a shadow-docket decision on Thursday.
FBI director Kash Patel took what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” tour of the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor during what was presented as a work trip to Hawaii, emails obtained by the Associated Press show.
FBI director Kash Patel took undisclosed 'VIP snorkel' tour of Pearl Harbor memorial during Hawaii trip - report
Two days after the FBI director, Kash Patel, deflected questions about his reported alcohol abuse by falsely accusing a US senator of drinking to excess, the Associated Press reports that Patel took what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” tour of the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor last year during what was presented as a work trip to Hawaii.
As the AP notes, the FBI insisted at the time that the director was not on vacation, highlighting his walking tour of the bureau’s Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement.
But government emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act revealed the previously undisclosed tour of the sunken battleship, which holds the remains more than 900 sailors and marines.
With few exceptions, snorkeling and diving are off-limits around the USS Arizona, the AP explains.
The battleship, now a military cemetery reachable only by boat, has stood as one of the nation’s most hallowed sites since Japan bombed and sank it in 1941. Marine archaeologists and crews from the National Park Service make occasional dives at the memorial to survey the condition of the wreck. Other dives have been conducted to inter the remains of Arizona survivors who wanted to rest eternally with their former shipmates.
Hack Albertson, a US Marine veteran who is part of a select group from the Paralyzed Veterans of America trained to dive on the Arizona annually to check on the condition of the wreck, told the AP it was inappropriate for Patel and other political figures to snorkel or dive at the memorial.
“It’s like having a bachelor party at a church. It’s hallowed ground,” he said. “It needs to be treated with the solemnity it deserves.”
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, a former FBI director, James Comey, seemed taken aback by the reporting. “You said snorkeling?” Comey asked the host.
He added that while he had “visited the Pearl Harbor memorial with the admiral in charge of the Pacific command on a Navy boat,” as director, he “never got in the water.”
Supreme court allows abortion pill mifepristone to continue to be available by mail
The US supreme court upheld nationwide access to mail-order mifepristone, an abortion medication, in a shadow-docket decision on Thursday.
Louisiana sued the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October in a bid to curtail the regulatory agency’s rules on prescribing mifepristone remotely, arguing that it interfered with the state’s ban on abortion.
The fifth circuit ruled in Louisiana’s favor on 1 May, effectively banning mail-order mifepristone for the entire country. Two mifepristone manufacturers, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, filed an emergency request with the supreme court, which granted a temporary stay until at least Thursday.
In a decision with dissents from the justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, the court sided against the fifth circuit, ending the ban – for now.
The decision came nearly a half hour after the court missed its own 5pm EST deadline.
Louisiana has no standing to challenge mail-order abortion, the court found, sending the case back to the fifth circuit. The suit is expected to return to the court on an official appeal, instead of emergency requests from drug manufacturers, in another term.
Medication accounts for approximately two-thirds of abortions in the US. In large part because of mailed medication, abortion rates have stayed steady in the US despite bans in several states.
US House fails to pass war powers resolution to direct Trump to end Iran was by a single vote
A war powers resolution, directing the US president, Donald Trump, “to remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran”, failed to pass the House of Representatives on Thursday by a single vote, after the Republican House leadership kept voting open long enough to achieve a 212-212 tie vote.
Three Republicans, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Tom Barrett of Michigan, voted in favor of the resolution.
Warren Davidson, a Republican congressman from Ohio who previously supported the measure, flipped his vote, ensuring a tie.
The only Democrat to vote against the resolution, Jared Golden of Maine, said in a statement that he had initially supported the resolution when his colleague Josh Gottheimer introduced it in March, “but unfortunately its proposed 30-day deadline lacks any real meaning now that we are more than 70 days into this conflict”.
Golden added that he would vote in favor of a “clean’”war powers resolution to remove US forces from hostilities against Iran sponsored by congressman Gregory Meeks when it comes to the floor as early as next week.
Updated
House ethics committee announces investigation of sexual harassment allegations against Republican Chuck Edwards
The US House ethics committee announced an investigation of alleged sexual harassment by a Republican congressman from North Carolina, Chuck Edwards.
According to a statement from the panel’s senior Republican and Democrat, the committee:
is reviewing allegations that Representative Chuck Edwards may have created or fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment in violation of the Code of Official Conduct or any other applicable standard of conduct.
The Committee notes that the mere fact that it is investigating these allegations, and publicly disclosing its review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.
The investigation comes one day after Axios reported that the publication had reviewed a text message exchange in which Edwards, a married 65-year-old, texted “a 20-something female staffer it was ‘disappointing to feel something that used to be easy has gotten complicated’ after she did not want to have dinner with him in May 2025”.
Newsom calls Republican redistricting to eliminate Black-majority congressional districts 'stone-cold racism'
Asked on Thursday for his response to Republican efforts to eliminate majority-Black congressional districts in former confederate states, with the approval of the US supreme court, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said: “This is Jim Crow 2.0, it’s sick. Stone-cold racism on a scale I never thought I’d see in my lifetime, never. Never have seen in my lifetime. It’s all happening, bringing us to a pre-1960s world. It’s jaw-dropping, what’s happening.”
Turning to the decision by Louisiana’s Republican governor, Jeff Landry, to cancel a primary election that was already underway, in which more than 42,000 ballots had been cast, to use a new map, Newsom added: “It was jaw-dropping what governor Landry did. He suspended a primary election where tens of thousands of people had already voted. Why? To redistrict two districts, to eliminate Black representation.”
Louisiana lawmakers approve plan to eliminate 1 of 2 majority-Black US House districts
Just two weeks after the US supreme court ruled that Louisiana must redraw its congressional map, in a landmark decision that effectively gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act, the state’s senate voted on Thursday to approve a map that would eliminate a majority-Black district, giving Republicans a chance to win an additional House seat in this year’s midterm elections.
If the state’s lower house approves the plan, the new US House districts would immediately be used for primary elections the state postponed in the wake of the supreme court ruling.
As our colleague Sam Levine reported, the supreme court decision was a major upheaval in US civil rights law and gave state lawmakers permission to draw districting plans that weaken the influence of Black and other minority voters.
The new map in Louisiana scraps a district that snakes over 200 miles (321 kilometers) northwest from the capital, Baton Rouge, to Shreveport, that gave a majority of Black residents the opportunity to elect a representative in Congress. Cleo Fields, a Democratic congressman, represents the current district.
The redrawn district would instead be clustered around predominantly white communities in the Baton Rouge area and southern Louisiana.
The new plan keeps a New Orleans-based, majority-Black district, currently represented by Democratic congressman Troy Carter but adds a portion of Baton Rouge to it.
Updated
Mike Banks, the border patrol chief who oversaw the most aggressive militarization of the US southern border in recent history, has resigned with immediate effect.
“It’s just time,” Banks told Fox News in an interview. “I feel like I got the ship back on course from the least secure, most disastrous, most chaotic border to the most secure border this country has ever seen.”
Rodney Scott, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP), commissioner, said: “We thank US Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks for his decades of service to this country and congratulate him on his second retirement after returning to serve during one of the most challenging periods for border security.
“During his time as chief, the border was transformed from chaos to the most secure border ever recorded. We wish him and his family well.”
The resignation comes weeks after the Washington Examiner reported that six current and former border patrol employees had accused Banks of regularly paying for sex with prostitutes during trips to Colombia and Thailand over more than a decade, and bragging about it to colleagues.
The behavior was said to have been investigated twice by CBP officials, with one inquiry reportedly ending abruptly while the former homeland security secretary Kristi Noem was in office.
CBP described the matter as “closed” last month, with a spokesperson telling the Examiner the allegations “date back more than a decade and were reviewed years ago”.
The agency did not comment on the allegations when contacted by the Guardian on Thursday.
Here's a recap of the day so far
Democrats on the House oversight committee called on Howard Lutnick to resign, following the commerce secretary’s 6 May testimony to the panel about his ties to the late sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein. “Secretary Lutnick spent his interview trying to cover up his lie and hide from the truth. He couldn’t explain bringing his family to Epstein’s island years after he claimed to have cut ties, even after he found Epstein to be deeply unsettling,” said Robert Garcia, the committee’s ranking member. All Democrats on the panel also signed a letter calling on the commerce secretary to resign, or for Donald Trump to fire him.
During his transcribed interview, Lutnick elaborated on the instances where he was in contact with Epstein after 2005, the year the commerce secretary initially claimed he stopped interacting with the late sex-offender. However, the commerce secretary then explained the two instances where he spent time with Epstein in the years after – describing them both as “meaningless and inconsequential”.
The Senate unanimously approved a resolution to withhold senators’ pay during future government shutdowns. The measure would come into effect after the 2026 midterm elections. The resolution, brought forward by senator John Kennedy from Louisiana, said that lawmakers in the upper chamber would receive a back pay after the shutdown ends, the way it works for other federal government employees.
The House speaker, Mike Johnson, and the minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, on Wednesday announced a bipartisan effort to combat sexual misconduct on Capitol Hill. The “partnership” led by the chairs of the Republican and Democratic women’s caucuses – congresswomen Kat Cammack of Florida and Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico – aims to “identify reforms and solutions to make Congress a safer work environment for women and all survivors”, the leaders said in a joint statement.
Earlier, in Beijing, Donald Trump thanked Xi Jinping for “a magnificent welcome like none other”. The president said that he and his team, which includes secretary of state Marco Rubio, had extremely positive and productive conversations and meetings with the Chinese delegation. At the state banquet, Trump also extended an invitation to Xi to the White House on 24 September.
During his transcribed interview, Lutnick elaborated on the instances where he was in contact with Epstein after 2005, the year the commerce secretary initially claimed he stopped interacting with the late sex-offender.
Lutnick said that after Epstein made a “crude and gross remark in my wife’s presence, which caused us to cut the visit short and leave”, when they visited him while neighbors in 2005 he vowed to “never establish a personal or professional relationship with [Epstein].”
However, the commerce secretary then explained the two instances where he spent time with Epstein in the years after – describing them both as “meaningless and inconsequential”.
In 2011, Lutnick said that he had a conversation with Epstein at the disgraced financier’s home on a “particular weekend afternoon”.
“I rang the bell, sat in his foyer with my dog, waited for him to come down, heard what he had to say, and left. As far as I recall, it was about scaffolding,” Lutnick told oversight lawmakers.
He then described the 2012 lunch on Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James, with his family and friends (another family of six). “I still have no idea how his staff discovered my family’s vacation plans or why they pursued arranging a visit with me,” Lutnick said in his interview, before characterizing the event as a “a brief, meaningless, and inconsequential lunch”.
Oversight Democrats demand Lutnick resign after testimony over Epstein ties
Democrats on the House oversight committee called on Howard Lutnick to resign, following the commerce secretary’s 6 May testimony to the panel about his ties to the late sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Secretary Lutnick spent his interview trying to cover up his lie and hide from the truth. He couldn’t explain bringing his family to Epstein’s island years after he claimed to have cut ties, even after he found Epstein to be deeply unsettling,” said Robert Garcia, the committee’s ranking member.
Democratic lawmakers on the panel signed a letter calling on the commerce secretary to step down.
A reminder that Lutnick – the highest-ranking Trump administration official prominently named in the Epstein files, aside from Donald Trump himself – said on a podcast last year that he had decided to “never be in the room” with Epstein following a 2005 tour of the financier’s home in Manhattan that disturbed him and his wife.
But the release of justice department files on Epstein earlier this year showed that Lutnick had two engagements with Epstein years past that. He attended a 2011 event at Epstein’s home. And Lutnick’s family had lunch with Epstein on his private island in 2012 – four years after Epstein was sentenced to 13 months in jail for procuring a minor for prostitution.
Lutnick admitted to the 2012 lunch during his 10 February testimony before the Senate appropriations committee. “I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation,” Lutnick said. In that testimony, Lutnick also insisted that he “barely had anything to do” with Epstein.
The commerce secretary only agreed to the closed-door interview in May, after Democrats on the committee publicly threatened to subpoena Lutnick if he refused to cooperate. Representative Ro Khanna of California told reporters that the votes were there to compel his testimony.
In their letter on Thursday, oversight Democrats were resolute about Lutnick’s need to resign. “The facts are clear: you lied to the American people and attempted to conceal your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein in your public statements,” they wrote. “Your lack of candor demonstrates that you are unfit to perform the duties required of you as secretary of Commerce, and you must step down immediately.”
Updated
Pope Leo XIV issued a start warning against the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in military and civilian contexts, in a post on X.
The events in Ukraine, Gaza and the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and Iran describe “the inhuman evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies, which creates a spiral of annihilation,” he said.
He cautioned against the growth in military expenditure around the world and in Europe in the past year, adding that rearmament should not be called defense.
Senate votes to withhold their pay during future government shutdowns
The Senate unanimously approved a resolution to withhold senators’ pay during future government shutdowns Thursday morning. The measure would come into effect after the 2026 midterm elections.
The resolution, brought forward by senator John Kennedy from Louisiana, said the senators would receive a back pay after the shutdown ends, the way it works for other federal government employees.
This comes after the US government experienced a 43-day shutdown in the fall, the longest closure to date. Separately, most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) experienced a 76-day partial shutdown earlier this year.
Updated
Adm Brad Cooper, head of the US Central Command, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the the Trump administration’s military campaign against Iran Thursday morning.
Cooper, in his first public hearing since the launch of the war, said Iran’s ability to strike the US or its allies had been “dramatically degraded” by the US, citing that the Iranian navy was no longer a regional power.
Iran’s warnings are continuing to ward of commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Cooper said. Iran has largely closed the strait of Hormuz, which was previously responsible for about a quarter of the world’s seaborne supply of oil and gas, since the start of the military campaign.
“The Iranian capability to stop commerce has been dramatically depleted through the strait, but their voice is very loud,” Cooper said. “And those threats are clearly heard by the merchant industry and insurance industry.”
Johnson and Jeffries tap representatives to lead bipartisan taskforce to combat sexual misconduct in Congress
Democratic Congresswomen Teresa Leger Fernández and Republican Kat Cammack announced a bipartisan partnership between the Democratic Women’s Caucus and Republican Women’s Caucus to combat workplace sexual misconduct in Congress. The representatives were appointed by House speaker Mike Johnson and minority leader Hakeem Jeffries to lead the initiative.
“No woman – regardless of party, title, or position – should ever feel unsafe in her workplace. Period,” said Cammack.
This comes after former Representative Eric Swalwell, a Democrat, stepped down from Congress in April, following multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct that ended his bid for California governor. Shortly after, Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas, also resigned after acknowledging an extramarital affair with a staffer and facing a growing threat of expulsion from his colleagues.
“It is sickening that Congressmen sexually harassed and assaulted women staff instead of treating them with the respect they deserved,” Fernández said in a statement announcing the taskforce.
Thune says GOP put 'a lot of work' into ensuring $1bn for ballroom security clears key test
John Thune, the Senate majority leader, told reporters today that the “Byrd scrubs with the parliamentarian get started today”, after Democrats vowed to fight the reconciliation bill “with every tool we have,” earlier this week.
Minority leader Chuck Schumer said that his party will stymie the budget bill that confers $72bn for federal immigration enforcement, and includes $1bn for security measures for Donald Trump’s ballroom project. Democrats have said this provision violates the so-called Byrd rule, and is extraneous and not actually budgetary.
“I usually can’t predict the outcome of some of that,” Thune said on Capitol Hill today. “Although we put a lot of work into ensuring that the things that we attempt to do are things that ultimately could clear those various tests.”
If the Senate parliamentarian advises that the provision be struck from the reconciliation bill, the funding for ballroom security would have to clear the 60-vote filibuster, instead of passing by a simple majority.
With housing costs for working-class families steadily climbing across the US while billionaire fortunes soar to all-time highs, renters’ rights are becoming a defining policy in the upcoming midterm elections, tenant rights organizers say.
In Massachusetts – where Boston consistently lands in the top five US cities for priciest rents – a proposed ballot question this November could overturn the state’s three-decade ban on rent control and cap annual increases at 5%, thanks to a coalition of three dozen housing, faith and labor groups.
The coalition, Homes for All Massachusetts, joined forces last year, recruited an army of volunteers, and within two months, gathered more than 124,000 signatures for the measure – far exceeding the minimum support required to place the issue before voters.
“We’re proud to be part of the national movement for rent control and tenant protections,” said Carolyn Chou, the executive director of Homes for All Massachusetts. “Those kinds of wins symbolize what resonates with everyday people across the country.”
Tenants’ rights organizers say renters’ policies previously considered too extreme have become the centerpiece of insurgent political campaigns in the midterm elections. “Renter” has even become an identity for candidates to run on. Taking a cue from renter politicians in major cities – like New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who turned “freeze the rent” into a rallying cry, and Seattle mayor Katie Wilson, who championed social housing – renter candidates across the country are running for city council, mayor and Congress this year.
“Working-class families are at an inflection point,” said Chris Otten, a tenant organizer in Washington DC. “There’s a lot of momentum for these types of policies that can materially benefit people’s lives.”
Read the full report:
On Capitol Hill today, we can expect a series of votes in the House and Senate.
Lawmakers in the lower chamber will vote for the third time to advance a war powers resolution that curbs military action in Iran. Much like yesterday’s failed Senate vote on the resolution, this is also expected to fall short, but we’ll be watching to see if any more Republicans defect and vote in favor.
In the upper chamber today, we can expect final passage on legislation that would withhold senators’ pay during a government shutdown. On Wednesday, the bill advanced by a unanimous vote, and will head to the Senate floor this afternoon.
Updated
As I reported earlier, we were watching for more opinions from the supreme court today. The justices didn’t hand down any decisions that we were watching closely.
However, it’s also worth saying that a case we’ll still be watching closely today, as the court is also poised to announce next steps in a case about granting nationwide access to mail-order mifepristone – an abortion medication.
On Monday, Justice Samuel Alito extended a temporary order that allows the pill’s distribution by telehealth and mail until at least 14 May. Two mifepristone manufacturers filed an emergency appeal to the supreme court after a federal appeals court ordered a ban on shipping the pill earlier this month.
A group of Miami residents has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and the state of Florida over a land giveaway for his proposed presidential library.
Almost three acres of prime waterfront land that once belonged to Miami Dade College (MDC) was illegally gifted to the US president by Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, the lawsuit states.
It cites the domestic emoluments clause of the US constitution that prohibits a sitting president from receiving any personal gain, profit or advantage from their position.
The action was brought in US district court for the southern district of Florida by the Washington DC-based Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) on behalf of plaintiffs including an MDC student, a Miami non-profit, and residents, who state the land “is no longer available to serve MDC’s student community and downtown Miami”.
Instead, the filing states, “the land will house a Trump hotel that brings riches to the President”.
Plans for the “gaudy” project were unveiled in March, to be built next to Miami’s iconic Freedom Tower, the historical landmark and community art museum. A giant golden statue of the president will stand before a 50-story tower block that will feature the controversial $400m Boeing “flying palace” jumbo jet gifted to him by Qatar, but not yet in service, in its cavernous lobby.
Supreme court poised to issue opinions
The supreme court will hand down opinions at 10am ET today. Here’s a reminder of the major cases we’re tracking closely.
Trump v Cook: Donald Trump’s case for firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, as he continues to exert greater control over the US central bank.
Trump v Slaughter: A case which examines the legality of Trump’s firing of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member, Rebecca Slaughter.
Trump v Barbara: In which the court will decide if the administration’s attempts to restrict birthright citizenship are unconstitutional.
Bessent: ‘We’re going to see substantial disinflation’
In response to a question about the latest data which saw US inflation jump to 3.8%, higher than when Joe Biden left office, Bessent remained undeterred.
“We may get a series, one or two more hot inflation numbers,” the treasury secretary said in an interview with CNBC. “But then I think we’re going to see substantial disinflation.”
Bessent predicts whipsawing price of oil to come ‘trundling’ down
While Trump was feasting with Xi Jinping at a state banquet in Beijing, treasury secretary Scott Bessent predicted that the price of oil will come “trundling” down in an interview with CNBC today.
“I firmly believe that nothing is more transient than a supply shock,” Bessent said.
The treasury secretary pointed to “record production” of oil in the US, as the basis for his argument. This comes as the price for a barrel of Brent Crude – the international benchmark – sits above $100.
“We’re going to keep pumping,” Bessent said. “Which will mean that the look through to inflation will also come down very quickly.”
Updated
Here's a summary of Donald Trump and Xi's most recent meeting
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US policy on Taiwan is “unchanged” after talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
Xi emphasised that Taiwan “is the most important issue in China-US relations”, adding that, if handled poorly, “the two countries will clash or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a very dangerous place”.
The US has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia’s second-most powerful chip in a move that could clear the way for the end of the standoff over tech rivalry.
The Chinese president questioned whether the US and China “can transcend the “Thucydides Trap” (see earlier post) and forge a new paradigm for great power relations”.
Xi said he and Trump agreed to establish a “constructive strategic and stable relationship between China and the US” as the new framework for bilateral relations.
On trade, US and Chinese economic and trade teams “reached an overall balanced and positive outcome” in discussions yesterday.
Xi said Beijing’s door “to the outside world will only open wider … American companies will enjoy even brighter prospects in China”.
The White House described the meeting as “good” and that Trump and Xi “highlighted the need to build on progress in ending the flow of fentanyl precursors into the United States, as well as increasing Chinese purchases of American agricultural products”.
The two leaders “exchanged views on major international and regional issues”, including the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean peninsula.
Trump told Xi he is “a great leader and China is a great country, and he deeply respects President Xi and the Chinese people”.
During the talks, Trump “introduced the business leaders who accompanied him to Xi Jinping one by one”.
Trump raised a glass to Xi, as he concluded his speech at the state banquet with an invitation to the White House on 24 September.
Rubio: US policy on Taiwan 'unchanged'
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US policy on Taiwan is “unchanged” after talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
“Our policies on that have not changed,” Rubio told NBC News. “It’s been pretty consistent across multiple presidential administrations, and remains consistent now.”
Xi warned Trump that disagreements over Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, could bring Beijing and Washington into conflict.
Updated
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Washington and Beijing are able to discuss artificial intelligence guardrails because the US is “the undisputed leader in the world” of AI.
“The two AI superpowers are gonna start talking. We’re gonna set up a protocol in terms of how do we go forward with best practices for AI to make sure non-state actors don’t get a hold of these models,” he told CNBC.
He added: “The reason we are able to have wholesome discussions with the Chinese on AI is because we are in the lead.
“I do not think we would be having the same discussions if they were this far ahead of us.”
US clears Nvidia chip sales to 10 Chinese firms as CEO looks for breakthrough
The US has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia’s second-most powerful chip in a move that could clear the way for the end of the standoff over tech rivalry.
China dominates the global supply of legacy chips, the older style chip used in everything from washing machines to smartphones, cars and medical devices.
But it lags behind on advanced chips, designed by the likes of Nvidia, used to drive artificial intelligence learning.
Earlier this year three people were charged in the US with trying to unlawfully divert cutting edge US AI tech to China, a sign of the frenzied demand to compete on AI.
The presence of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was not originally expected to join Donald Trump’s trip to China, has raised hopes that a tech deal could be still be rescued.
Nvidia dominates the AI chip market with Mizuho Securities estimating the company supply between 70% and 95% of the chips used for training by OpenAI’s GPT and others.
Ahead of the summit Trump said he would be asking Xi Jinping to “open up” China to allow their “brilliant people” to “work their magic”, code for permission to allow US trade companies enter the Chinese market.
Nvidia’s most advanced chips, widely used for training AI models, have faced tighter US restrictions on China sales over the last four years.
Donald Trump, accustomed to eating McDonald’s, is being forced to expand his palate at tonight’s state banquet in Beijing.
The menu includes lobster in tomato soup, crispy beef ribs, Beijing roast duck, stewed seasonal vegetables, slow-cooked salmon in mustard sauce, pan-fried pork bun and trumpet shell-shaped pastry.
The dinner caps a first day of talks between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping that appear to have gone smoothly but offered little by way of substance.
It is being held in a huge hall in the Great Hall of the People beneath giant chandeliers, blue and gold balconies and an orange backdrop with pagoda-style roofs saying ‘Welcoming banquet’ with US and China flags.
Xi toasted Trump by saying the relationship between China and the US is the most important in the world today and we “must make it work and never mess it up”. He added that the “rejuvenation of China” and “make America great again” can go hand in hand.
Then Trump delivered a flat speech with few of his usual digressions. He said he had invited Xi to visit the White House on 24 September. Toasting the enduring ties between the American and Chinese people, he described it as “very special relationship” – a phrase that might be painful to British ears.
But both of them are at risk of being upstaged by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who was repeatedly asked for photos by Chinese guests and responded by pulling funny faces. Asked by pool reporters about his talks with Xi, Musk replied: “It was awesome,” before secretary of state Marco Rubio led him away.
Bessent: 'Trump understands sensitivities around Taiwan issue'
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Donald Trump understands the sensitivities around the issue of Taiwan and will speak on the matter in the coming days.
The US president has not commented on Taiwan, the self governing island that Beijing considers its territory, nor was it mentioned in a White House statement of Trump’s meetings with Xi Jinping in Beijing today. The Chinese government, in its readout of the summit, said Xi warned Trump that the Taiwan issue could send relations down a “dangerous” path and even lead to conflict.
In an interview with CNBC, Bessent said: “President Trump understands the issues here and understands the sensitivities around all this, and anyone who has been saying otherwise does not understand the negotiating style of Donald Trump.”
Trump invites Xi to Washington in September
Trump raises a glass to Xi, as he concludes his speech with an invitation to the White House on 24 September.
Updated
Giving more examples of how close the US and China have grown over the years, Trump said Chinese people “now love basketball and blue jeans”.
He also claimed Chinese restaurants in the US today “outnumber the five largest fast food chains in the United States all combined. That’s a pretty big statement”.
Trump said the US and China have “from the beginning … shared a deep sense of mutual respect”, giving the example of Benjamin Franklin publishing the sayings of Confucius in his colonial newspaper.
Trump says talks with Xi 'extremely positive and productive'
Donald Trump is now addressing the state dinner. The US president hailed a “fantastic day” and thanked Xi Jinping for “a magnificent welcome like none other”.
He added:
We had extremely positive and productive conversations and meetings today with the Chinese delegation earlier, and this evening is another cherished opportunity to discuss among friends some of the things that we discussed today.
Updated
Xi ended his speech with “ganbei” – the Chinese equivalent of “cheers” – and raising his glass to Trump.
Xi: 'US and China should be partners, not rivals'
Xi said he and Trump have kept China-US relations “generally stable”.
He added:
Today, president Trump and I had in-depth exchanges on China-US relations and the international and regional dynamics. We both believe that the China-US relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. We must make it work and never mess it up.
Both China and the United States stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. Our two countries should be partners rather than rivals.
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Xi compares his rejuvenation efforts in China with Trump's Maga movement
Xi hailed a “historic visit” as he extended a warm welcome to Trump and other guests.
He said:
The people of China and the United States are both great peoples, achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand.
We can help each other succeed and advance the wellbeing of the whole world.
Updated
Trump and Xi have arrived at the state banquet, where they are seated next to each other.
Xi is now delivering a speech, follow along for more.
Updated
Looks like the tech leaders accompanying Trump on his China trip and some other US officials have arrived early for the banquet dinner in the Great Hall of the People.
Donald Trump has arrived at the state banquet in Beijing where more pageantry awaits.
Taiwan said it would “maintain close communication” with the US and that Donald Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping contained “no surprises”.
Xi warned Trump that the issue of Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory, could lead to conflict and “an extremely dangerous situation”, according to a readout of their meeting by the Chinese foreign ministry.
Taiwan’s mainland affairs council deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh brushed off those comments, saying the self-governing island is almost always discussed in meetings between the US and China.
“So at this point, all we can say is that there has been no surprising information so far and we will continue to maintain close communication with the American side,” he said, adding that comments about conflict had been made before.
Putin visit to China will 'take place soon', Kremlin says
Russian president Vladimir Putin will visit China very soon and preparations for the trip are already complete, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Putin and Xi Jinping have met more than 40 times over the years, most recently in Beijing last September.
The two men signed a “no limits” strategic partnership in February 2022, less than three weeks before Russia went to war in Ukraine.
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Here are some of the latest images on the wires coming out of the Trump-Xi summit
White House statement on Trump-Xi talks
Here is the White House readout of the Trump-Xi summit today, which refers to the Iran war and the strait of Hormuz. But it makes no mention of Taiwan, despite the issue appearing extensively in the Chinese government’s statement of the talks.
President Trump had a good meeting with President Xi of China.
The two sides discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation between our two countries, including expanding market access for American businesses into China and increasing Chinese investment into our industries. Leaders from many of the United States’ largest companies joined a portion of the meeting.
The two sides agreed that the strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy. President Xi also made clear China’s opposition to the militarisation of the strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the strait in the future. Both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.
The White House also said Trump and Xi “highlighted the need to build on progress in ending the flow of fentanyl precursors into the United States, as well as increasing Chinese purchases of American agricultural products”.
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White House says Trump and Xi had 'good meeting' but omits mention of Taiwan
We are now getting some comments from the White House on the Trump-Xi summit.
A White House official said Donald Trump “had a good meeting” with Xi Jinping, where they discussed enhancing economic cooperation, expanding market access for US businesses into China and increasing Chinese investment.
The official added that the two leaders agreed the strait of Hormuz – which has been effectively shut since the US and Israel began bombing Iran – should remain open.
Taiwan was not mentioned in the White House readout of the talks.
We will bring you more as we get it.
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Donald Trump is known for his off the cuff remarks, particularly to the media, but during a photo op in Beijing he remained unusually silent when posed with questions by the press.
CNN published a video of the US president standing side by side with Xi Jinping outside the Temple of Heaven, and he is asked twice by reporters whether he discussed Taiwan with the Chinese leader during meetings today. Trump appears to ignore the question and, after momentarily standing in silence with Xi, walks away.
The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement that Xi told Trump the Taiwan issue “is the most important issue in China-US relations” and that “Taiwan independence and peace” are “incompatible”.
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A comment Donald Trump made to Xi Jinping about the tech leaders who have accompanied him on his trip to China has proved popular with Chinese social media users.
“I didn’t want the second or the third in the company. I wanted only the top, and they’re here today to pay respects to you and to China,” Trump told Xi.
His comments ranked second in trending topics on the Chinese social network Weibo, according to AP.
What Xi and Trump discussed, according to Chinese statement
We are waiting for the US to issue any comments on the meetings between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing today, but the Chinese foreign ministry has released a statement on the talks.
Here is what the two leaders discussed, according to the ministry readout:
Xi emphasised that Taiwan “is the most important issue in China-US relations”, adding that, if handled poorly, “the two countries will clash or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a very dangerous place”.
The Chinese president questioned whether the US and China “can transcend the “Thucydides Trap” (see earlier post) and forge a new paradigm for great power relations”.
Xi said he and Trump agreed to establish a “constructive strategic and stable relationship between China and the US” as the new framework for bilateral relations.
On trade, US and Chinese economic and trade teams “reached an overall balanced and positive outcome” in discussions yesterday.
Xi said Beijing’s door “to the outside world will only open wider … American companies will enjoy even brighter prospects in China”.
The two leaders “exchanged views on major international and regional issues”, including the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean peninsula.
Trump told Xi he is “a great leader and China is a great country, and he deeply respects President Xi and the Chinese people”.
During the talks, Trump “introduced the business leaders who accompanied him to Xi Jinping one by one”.
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Xi hails new era of 'constructive strategic stable relationship' with US
Xi Jinping lauded a new era of US-China relations after hosting meetings with Donald Trump in Beijing.
A statement from the Chinese foreign ministry said:
Xi Jinping emphasised that China is committed to the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-US relations. He stated that he and president Trump agreed to establish a “constructive strategic and stable relationship between China and the US” as a new positioning for China-US relations, which will provide strategic guidance for China-US relations for the next three years and beyond, and is believed to be welcomed by the people of both countries and the international community. “Constructive strategic stability” should be positive stability based on cooperation, benign stability with moderate competition, normalised stability with manageable differences, and lasting stability with a promising future of peace. “A constructive strategic and stable relationship between China and the US” is not just a slogan, but should be a matter of concerted action.
Taiwan says China is 'sole risk' to regional peace and stability
Taiwan has issued a statement after Donald Trump and Xi Jinping wrapped up their summit in Beijing today, warning that China is the “sole risk” to regional peace and stability.
It came after the Chinese leader delivered a warning of his own to the US president, saying the Taiwan issue, if not handled well, could lead to conflict and push China-US relations into “a very dangerous place”.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry has pushed back, saying China is “currently the sole risk to regional peace and stability”. It pointed to China’s “military harassment” and grey-zone activities around Taiwan and the region as evidence, adding that “Beijing has no right to make any claims on behalf of Taiwan internationally”.
Earlier, Taiwan cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee said Taiwan was grateful for the US’s “long-term support” and that Washington has “repeatedly reiterated its firm and clear position of support” for the island.
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Xi and Trump discuss Middle East and Ukraine wars and North Korea, says China foreign ministry
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping discussed the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine as well as North Korea during talks in Beijing, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
“The two heads of state exchanged views on major international and regional issues such as the situation in the Middle East, the Ukraine crisis, and the Korean peninsula,” the ministry said in a statement.
It remains to be seen whether the US president can convince the Chinese leader to help him end the war with Iran. China is a close ally of Iran and the world’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil.
Interim summary
In case you’re just joining us, here’s a recap of the day’s main events as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping kicked off their high-stakes summit in Beijing, where it’s now 2pm.
Xi and Trump began a series of meetings on Thursday in a two-day US-China summit that is expected to cover divisive issues ranging from trade, technology and Taiwan to the Iran war but with few breakthroughs expected.
Xi said at the start of about two hours of bilateral talks in the Great Hall of the People on Thursday that 2026 marked 250 years of US independence and that stability in the US-China relationship was necessary for global stability.
Trump said Xi was a “great leader” and that the two countries’ relationship was “going to be better than ever”.
Xi later told Trump their countries could come into conflict if the issue over self-ruled Taiwan claimed by Beijing was mishandled, Chinese state media said. “The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations,” Xi said.
Marco Rubio said US officials would try to persuade China to take a more “active role” in resolving the conflict in Iran, the US secretary of state told Fox News while en route to China.
Trump also hopes to focus talks on trade and deals for China to buy more agricultural products and passenger planes, setting up a board to address their differences and avoid a repeat of the trade war ignited last year after Trump’s tariff hikes.
Xi told a delegation of US business executives that China would “open wider” to the world. “American companies will enjoy even brighter prospects in China,” Xi was quoted by Chinese state media as saying amid the summit. Tesla chief Elon Musk, Nvidia boss Jensen Huang and Apple head Tim Cook are among the business leaders who travelled with Trump to Beijing.
China has renewed export licences for hundreds of US beef processing plants, customs data showed, in a possible goodwill gesture amid the Beijing summit.
Trump and Xi visited Beijing’s historic Temple of Heaven after concluding their talks, and are to attend a state banquet later on Thursday. Trump is expected to leave just after midday on Friday after a final private meeting with Xi.
Asian shares were mixed on Thursday as investors closely monitored takeaways from the summit.
With news agencies
Updated
China renews hundreds of US beef exporters' licences amid summit
China has renewed export licences for hundreds of US beef processing plants, customs data showed, in a possible goodwill gesture as the leaders of both countries met in Beijing.
More than 400 US beef plants lost export eligibility over the past year as Beijing’s permissions – granted between March 2020 and April 2021 – lapsed without the customary renewal, accounting for roughly 65% of the once-registered facilities.
Agriculture has been expected to play a big part in any trade deal and the renewals are the first official pointer to likely elements of a final package shaping in the talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, Reuters is reporting.
“This shows China has released some goodwill gestures in areas that aren’t too critical to US-China trade relations,” said Xu Hongzhi, a senior analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultants.
The step is likely to cheer US beef producers told by the White House in recent weeks the issue would be raised during the summit.
Cargill CEO Brian Sikes is among the US CEOs accompanying Donald Trump to Beijing. Plants owned by Cargill and Tyson Foods were included in the renewal.
Xi tells US business leaders China 'will open wider’ doors to world – report
Xi Jinping has told a delegation of US business executives that China will “open wider” to the world.
“China’s doors to the outside world will open wider and wider... American companies will enjoy even brighter prospects in China,” Xi was quoted by Chinese state media as saying during the US-China summit in Beijing on Thursday.
Tesla chief Elon Musk, Nvidia boss Jensen Huang and Apple head Tim Cook are among the contingent of business leaders who reportedly travelled to Beijing with Donald Trump.
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On the streets of Beijing there has been heightened security for the Xi-Trump summit – as well as scepticism about the US.
Yaoji Chaogan, a no-frills canteen next to Beijing’s historic Drum and Bell towers, once proudly displayed photographs of Joe Biden, whose 2011 visit to the eatery when he was US vice-president went viral in China. But evidence of him stopping in was removed during redecorations a few years ago, and a visit from a US leader is no longer something to boast about, writes Amy Hawkins in Beijing.
“If US politicians were really smart, they wouldn’t try to hold China back,” Liu Cheng, 47, said at the restaurant on Wednesday.
Whoever was US president, Liu said, “it’s more or less the same for ordinary people like us”.
Before they take office, US presidents may say very extreme things, but once they are in office they have no choice but to face the reality of China’s existence.”
He said the US was struggling to accept the fact of China’s rise. The US “sees China has a threat … I think it will probably take about 10 years for the US to accept it”.
Liu Chunlei, a 36-year-old taxi driver, said the issue of Taiwanese independence was driving a wedge between the two superpowers. But he welcomed that Trump was willing to visit Beijing.
It will definitely help ease China-US relations a little … it shows that his attitude towards China is not hostile.”
Others expressed scepticism, with one user on the social media platform Weibo writing:
There’s no point discussing anything with Trump. He’ll change his mind once he gets back. What he says in the morning can also change by the afternoon.”
See the full story here:
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping have visited Beijing’s historic Temple of Heaven after concluding their high-stakes talks.
The two leaders reportedly arrived at the world heritage site on Thursday shortly after 1pm (0500 GMT), where Trump told media that “China’s beautiful”.
The Temple of Heaven is a religious complex dating from the Ming dynasty in the 15th century, and has been closed to visitors since Tuesday ahead of Trump’s tour.
The temple is a significant monument in the history of Beijing and Washington. Henry Kissinger visited it on a secret visit to China in 1971, a trip that paved the way for the US and China to establish formal diplomatic relations.
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Curious about what is happening in Beijing?
Take a look at our gallery on the Xi-Trump summit, replete with scenes from the country’s capital.
Here are three of them:
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping wrapped up their meeting after about two hours of talks covering Taiwan, trade and other differences in US-China relations.
The meeting was behind closed doors and the White House didn’t offer an official readout afterwards, but China’s official Xinhua news agency said Xi told Trump that if Taiwan was not handled correctly, the US and China risked “clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy”.
That followed public opening remarks at the Great Hall of the People in which Trump was full of praise for Xi, saying “you’re a great leader” and that “it’s an honour to be your friend”.
Xi was darker in his opening remarks, expressing hope the US and China could avoid conflict while saying that history and the world were asking “whether the two countries can transcend the “Thucydides Trap” (see earlier post) and forge a new model for relations between major powers”, the AP reported.
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A White House official is also confirming that Trump and Xi’s summit meeting has finished.
Taiwan is reportedly saying the US has “reaffirmed its clear and firm support” for the island for the island.
The Xi-Trump meeting has now concluded, Chinese state media channel CCTV is saying.
The meeting between Trump and Xi and their delegations is still continuing in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, a White House official has been quoted as saying.
Xi warns Trump China and US could 'come into conflict' if Taiwan issue mishandled – report
Xi Jinping has told Donald Trump their countries could come into conflict if the issue over self-ruled Taiwan claimed by Beijing is mishandled, Chinese state media said.
“The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations,” Xi said at their summit, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
If mishandled, the two nations could collide or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a highly perilous situation.”
Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua quoted Xi as telling Trump that if the Taiwan issue was not handled well, the two countries would clash or even come into conflict, pushing China-US relations into “a very dangerous place”.
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Xi says China and the US must transcend 'Thucydides Trap'
References to ancient Greece may not have been high on today’s prediction list, but that is exactly what Xi Jinping did when he welcomed Trump in Beijing today.
Xi name-checked an ancient Greek historian to express his hopes that the US and China can avoid conflict, saying that history, the world and its people were asking whether the two countries can transcend the “Thucydides Trap” and forge a new model for relations between major powers.
He was using a term that’s popular in foreign policy studies, referring to the idea that when a rising power threatens to displace an established power, the result is often war.
It comes from Thucydides’ account of the destructive Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, in which he remarked that: “It was the rise of Athens, and the fear that rise engendered in Sparta, that made war inevitable.”
Xi says the world is at a crossroads, marked by turbulence and uncertainty.
The question before China and the United States, he said, is “whether the two countries can work together to meet challenges and bring greater stability to the world”.
Asian markets were mixed on Thursday as investors weighed the US-China summit along with persistent inflation concerns, which tempered optimism fuelled by record highs on Wall Street.
The Nasdaq and S+P 500 hit the fresh highs overnight but investor attention centred on Donald Trump’s Beijing visit, with markets hoping for progress in easing trade tensions but analysts cautioning against expecting a major breakthrough.
As the strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut, the price of international benchmark Brent crude oil was marginally up on Thursday morning, going for a little over $105 a barrel, AFP reports.
In Asian markets, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei and Manila advanced, while Shanghai, Wellington and Singapore were down.
Currency markets were relatively steady, with the yen slightly weaker and the yuan ticking higher.
As the high-stakes US-China summit continues, negotiations on the conflict in the Middle East, the US-China trade war, disagreements over Taiwan and global AI competition will be packed into just over 24 hours.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said as the Trump team travelled to Beijing that Washington would be pushing Beijing for help on the Iran crisis.
Beijing, meanwhile, hopes to use the meeting to recalibrate US-China ties and set a foundation for a stable and, optimistically, predictable trade relationship going forwards.
Amy Hawkins also reports that Xie Feng, China’s ambassador to the US, said in the Chinese Communist party’s official newspaper on Thursday:
Against the backdrop of escalating international instability, the strategic significance of Sino-US relations is even more prominent.
It is not clear what concrete outcomes will be achieved at this week’s talks. The Trump administration has talked of establishing a Board of Trade with China to address commercial differences between the countries. Beijing wants to push Trump to soften US support for Taiwan, although many in Beijing concede this is unlikely.
Despite the trip lasting barely two days, Xi and Trump will have plenty of time for interaction on this visit – the first of up to four presidential meetings expected this year.
See the full report here:
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Donald Trump was evidently pleased with his welcome in Beijing. US domestic critics will say that it flattered his authoritarian ego perfectly.
In October 2024 Trump said of Xi Jinping:
He controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist. I mean, he’s a brilliant guy, whether you like it or not.
The US president will have loved the cool, clinical pageantry that greeted him at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing: red carpet, cannon fire, martial music and troops in ceremonial uniforms with bayoneted rifles marching in lockstep.
Trump stopped to applaud children who energetically waved flags and flowers with theatrical adulation. He watched as Xi warmly shook hands with his son, Eric, and his favourite rightwing ideologue, Stephen Miller.
“That was an honour like few have ever seen before,” Trump said when they sat down in a grand boardroom.
He told Xi:
You’re a great leader. Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true. I only say the truth.
Once, such China-US meetings were palpably between autocrat and democrat. Now they appear like two birds of a feather.
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More from the two leaders’ opening remarks now.
Trump told Xi in the meeting room that their two countries were “going to have a fantastic future together”.
“It’s an honour to be with you,” Trump said.
It’s an honour to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.”
The Chinese leader was quoting as telling Trump at the table with their delegations in the Great Hall of the People that he was “happy” for the US president’s visit while the world was “at a new crossroads” and that he looked forward to exchanging views with him on major issues.
Xi said:
A stable China-US relationship is a boon for the world. Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both. We should be partners and not rivals.”
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Xi says China-US relationship key to global stability as summit talks begin
Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping have started their bilateral talks inside the Great Hall of the People, China’s grand national legislature.
In opening remarks, Xi noted that 2026 marks 250 years of US independence and said that stability in the US-China relationship was necessary for global stability.
Trump said that he and Xi have “known each other for a long time” and that Xi was a “great leader”.
“I say to everybody you’re a great leader,” Trump told Xi. “Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true.”
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Trump tells Xi their relationship will be 'better than ever'
The US-China summit is now under way.
Xi said in opening remarks that he always believed that the common interests between China and the US outweighed the differences.
He also said the success of China and the US was an opportunity for each other.
Trump told him in reply that the relationship was “going to be better than ever”.
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Trump’s motorcade arrived at the Great Hall at 10.01am local time, almost exactly on schedule.
It slowly drew to a halt and Trump emerged at 10.03, wearing a suit and red tie. A band played a fanfare.
He walked over to Xi – who was standing by the steps – and they shook hands for a couple of seconds, with Trump briefly patting Xi’s hand, AFP reports.
Xi, accompanied by Trump, then shook hands with the US delegation front row.
Trump and Xi moved to the raised red-and-gold dais as the Chinese military band played the Star Spangled Banner. Trump saluted as cannon fire rang out across Tianenmen Square. Both leaders then stood to attention for the Chinese national anthem.
Trump and Xi inspected an honour guard of several lines of Chinese troops in various ceremonial uniforms in blue and white with bayoneted rifles. Nearest the press poll was a group of rifle-clutching female troops.
Schoolchildren then energetically did their routine and Trump smiled broadly and applauded them as Xi and he moved along in front of them, later heading towards the Great Hall.
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Trump and Xi have entered the Great Hall of the People, along with their entourages, and the welcome ceremony has ended.
Bilateral talks between the two countries are now to follow, and we’re seeing live images of the two delegations seated on a long table with Chinese and US flags at the end.
Xi is delivering opening remarks as Trump listens, sometimes nodding, and then Trump addresses Xi.
The day is to later include a visit to the Temple of Heaven and a state banquet.
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Donald Trump and Xi Jinping take part in welcome ceremony in Beijing
Donald Trump has met Xi Jinping in Beijing and a welcome ceremony is under way outside the Great Hall of the People.
The leaders shook hands and walked together on a red carpet after Trump arrived in a motorcade to the steps outside, where a US delegation including Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth and business chiefs including Elon Musk awaited him.
The ceremony is continuing now, with marching soldiers and music, as Xi and Trump stand side by side under a gazebo and watch.
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Trump and Xi are walking together on a red carpet, drum rolls and trumpets are sounding.
Trump salutes as a band is playing the US national anthem.
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Xi is now shaking hands with US officials.
The two men have walked together to a group of Chinese officials and Trump is shaking hands.
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Donald Trump has gotten out of a car and shaken hands with Xi Jinping.
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Xi Jinping has walked down stairs in Tinanman Square as a US motorcade drives towards the area.
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US officials including secretary of state Marco Rubio and defence secretary Pete Hegseth are also gathering.
From Beijing we’re seeing live images of an honour guard marching into position before a welcome ceremony for Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People – due to start in minutes.
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During the summit, Donald Trump also intends to raise the idea of the US, China and Russia signing a pact that would set limits on the nuclear weapons each nation keeps in its arsenal, according to a senior Trump administration official who spoke anonymously in briefing reporters ahead of the trip.
China has previously been cool to entering such a pact. Beijing’s arsenal, according to Pentagon estimates, exceeds more than 600 operational nuclear warheads and is far from parity with the US and Russia, which each are estimated to have more than 5,000 nuclear warheads.
The last nuclear arms pact between Russia and the US – known as the New Start treaty – expired in February. As it was set to expire, Trump rejected a call by Russia to extend the two-country deal for another year and called for “a new, improved and modernised” deal that includes China.
Rubio says US will urge Beijing to be more 'active' in resolving Iran war – report
Marco Rubio says American officials will try to persuade China to take a more “active role” in resolving the conflict in Iran, Fox News is reporting.
The US secretary of state told the network from aboard Air Force One while en route to China that the US had made its case to Beijing on why it should engage in efforts to settle simmering tensions with Iran.
“It’s in their interest to resolve this,” Rubio said.
We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf.”
Among the big tech leaders who (eventually) flew to China with Trump on Air Force One is Jensen Huang, the president and CEO of Nvidia.
Trump was reportedly picked up Huang in Alaska en route to the Beijing summit, while the presidential plane was refuelling. Trump asked Huang at the last minute to join the trip, Reuters quoted a source as saying. Huang had not figured on an initial list of travelling executives provided by the White House.
Various media outlets had reported on Huang’s apparent omission after the plane had departed for Alaska and Beijing. Trump later posted from Air Force One saying Huang was onboard and he denied the CEO had not been invited.
The Nvidia boss is close to Trump, but in April Huang criticised the US’s limitations on chip sales to China, saying he didn’t want a “loser mentality” to cost the US its edge in AI. The sale of US semiconductors to China is believed to be a key agenda item for the summit.
Here are some photos of US snipers and other security forces watching over Air Force One while it refuelled on Tuesday at Joint Base Elmendorf in Anchorage, Alaska.
Donald Trump will drive through a Chinese capital that is smoggier than it was on his last visit in 2017, when the authorities launched emergency measures to clear the skies of pollution days before his first state visit to Beijing.
Factories were ordered to halt production and heavily polluting cars were banned from the roads in the days ahead of the US president’s trip nearly a decade ago, an era in which China had declared war on air pollution and made special efforts to clear the skies ahead of important political events such as visiting dignitaries and the Beijing Olympics.
No such efforts have been made this year. The air quality index in the capital is over 150 today, well over the World Health Organization’s guidelines for healthy air, shrouding the city in a greyish smog full of pollutants that are harmful to human health.
In recent years China’s fight against air pollution has slowed. That is partly because huge improvements have already been made: last year average levels of PM2.5 in Beijing – the most harmful particulate in air pollution – dropped to below 30 for the first time since records began more than a decade ago.
But heavily polluted skies remain a fairly common occurrence. And a visit from the US president is no longer a reason to clear them.
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Trump is soon to kick off the busiest part of his China trip.
He arrived in Beijing late on Wednesday but on Thursday the summit begins in earnest.
Xi Jinping will officially welcome the US president during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People reportedly beginning at 10am local time – just under 45 minutes away – followed by bilateral talks.
Then there’s some cultural programming – a visit to the Temple of Heaven – before a state banquet capping the day.
This trip is expected to be long on pageantry and symbolism, as the Associated Press reports, but neither side has yet offered concrete details on what Trump or Xi will come away with.
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I’m now sitting in the press filing centre at the China World Hotel in Beijing. Two American flags and a wooden lectern bearing a “United States embassy Beijing” seal stand on a black podium against a black curtain beneath a giant crystal chandelier.
There are TVs on either side of the podium: one showing CNN, the other Fox News. Sadly, that is as close as many reporters will get to seeing Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in action today.
And there is no guarantee that anyone will appear at the lectern to brief the media, who are sitting on 10 rows of desks covered with blue tablecloths.
The busiest man here today is an IT consultant from the phone and internet company AT&T, who is fielding queries from hapless journalists about VPNs trying to circumvent China’s Great Firewall.
But for western media there are creature comforts nearby. The hotel connects to a luxury mall that includes Peet’s Coffee, Starbucks, Chanel, Dior, Jimmy Choo, Gucci, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Burberry, Armani, Givenchy and Hugo Boss.
Greetings from Beijing, where I awoke to CNN coverage of Chinese social media mocking Donald Trump and America as a fading superpower.
CNN noted that China’s tough internet censors had evidently allowed these comments to appear. But then my TV suddenly “lost signal”, which felt suspicious, though the coverage soon resumed.
Outside a lift in the press hotel I bumped into Jacqui Heinrich, senior White House correspondent of the conservative Fox News channel. She had travelled with Trump on the long Air Force One flight but noted that, unusually, he did not come to the press cabin to “gaggle” with reporters.
I wonder whether he was having too much fun with Elon Musk? Or maybe White House chief of staff Susie Wiles had intervened to make sure he didn’t make flip comment about Taiwan?
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Trump's arrival in Beijing – in pictures
Here are some images of Donald Trump’s welcome in China after touching down aboard Air Force One at Beijing capital international airport on Wednesday night.
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The president is also travelling with a large contingent of business leaders that reportedly includes:
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and Space X CTO
Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO
Tim Cook, Apple CEO
Kelly Ortberg, Boeing CEO
Dina Powell McCormick, Meta president and vice chairman
Larry Fink, Blackrock chairman and CEO
Other banking, finance and tech executives
So who else travelled with Trump on Air Force One to China? According to a partial list provided by the White House: US secretary of state Marco Rubio, defence secretary Pete Hegseth and senior adviser Stephen Miller.
Also onboard were Eric and Lara Trump, plus an array of White House advisers, strategists, speech writers and communications executives.
Iran war and the other big questions hanging over Trump-Xi summit
One of Trump’s pressing concerns as he visits Beijing is how to find a way to reopen the strait of Hormuz, through which half of China’s crude oil passes.
China has been more insulated from the energy shock than other Asian countries, thanks to its diversified energy mix and large stockpiles. But the risk of a global recession – which the International Monetary Fund has warned is a possible outcome of the Iran war – is a bigger threat to China’s economy.
About a fifth of China’s GDP comes from exports. If the rest of the world is no longer able to spend money on goods, China will suffer.
There’s speculation Trump could use the summit to seek Beijing’s help to end the war with China-allied Iran. But the US president told reporters before departing the White House on Tuesday:
I don’t think we need any help with Iran. We’ll win it one way or the other – peacefully or otherwise.”
Trump also sought to play down divisions with Beijing, saying Xi had been “relatively good” during the crisis.
The Guardian’s senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins, has examined the biggest questions hanging over the Trump-Xi talks, which begin later today.
Updated
The Trump-Xi summit will span two days. It was originally scheduled for late March or early April but was delayed due to the Iran war.
Now that Trump is in China, here are some of the hazards the US president faces.
Welcome
Donald Trump’s state visit to China this week is the first by a US president in nearly a decade and comes amid a time of geopolitical upheaval, a Middle East war with no end in sight and a sometimes rocky relationship between the world’s two major superpowers.
Aside from discussions about Iran, Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to discuss trade and tariffs, Taiwan and AI.
Stay with us as we cover this high-stakes visit. It’s approaching 8.10am in Beijing.
