Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump met in Beijing on Thursday for high-level talks that discussed war with Iran and Ukraine and economic cooperation.
Aside from the long list of complex agenda topics, here are five other highlights from the first day of the summit:
One-sided friendship?
Trump praised Xi as the talks began in the cavernous Great Hall of the People, saying: “It is an honor to be your friend.”
Trump told President Xi: “You and I have known each other for a long time… We had a great relationship, and we cooperated when there were difficulties, and we worked them out.”
“I’ll call you and you’ll call me.” Xi has in the past responded in part to Trump’s characterization of their relationship, referring to a “personal friendship.”
But the Chinese leader on Thursday stopped using that classification, saying instead that their two countries “should be partners, not competitors.”
Xi Jinping’s best friend on the international stage is Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He is liberal in his use of the word, and often praises “friendships” with several countries, including North Korea, Pakistan and France.
A handshake, not a hug
In a social media post in mid-April, Trump predicted that Xi would give him a “big, fat hug” upon his arrival in Beijing.
The comment was typical of Trump’s bombastic and free-spirited behavior on the international stage – a stark contrast to Xi’s measured, taciturn presence.
On Thursday morning, Trump was offered a firm handshake instead of the warm hug he had hoped for.
The handshake lasted more than 10 seconds, with the US leader patting Xi’s arm several times.
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Thucydides’ trap
In his speeches and meetings with foreign leaders, Xi often refers to classic aphorisms or poems from ancient China.
But on Thursday, Xi chose to compare the US-China relationship to a “Thucydides Trap,” the political term coined by an American scholar based on an account of the Peloponnesian War written by the ancient Greek historian Thucydides.
The term refers to the tendency towards war when a rising power threatens to displace an established power.
“Can China and the United States overcome the so-called “Thucydides Trap” and forge a new model for relations between major powers?” Shi asked.
Xi added that the answer to this question should be “jointly written” by the two leaders.
In a meeting with Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden in 2024, he said the Thucydides Trap was “not a historical inevitability.”
Reporter fight
Tensions escalated on the sidelines between traveling US media and Chinese individuals and security officials.
Journalists jostled to take photos in the Great Hall as Trump and Xi prepared to take their seats, with an expletive-laden exclamation recorded.
Chinese security personnel can be heard in the background telling reporters to stand back.
Later, as the leaders visited the historic Temple of Heaven, entry for the American press was delayed for about half an hour after Chinese security initially refused to allow a Secret Service agent to enter with a weapon.
Chinese officials then prevented American staff and reporters from leaving and joining the procession, before eventually allowing them to exit.
In footage of the scene, an American can be heard telling Chinese staff: “You guys have been terrible hosts.”
Memes galore
Chinese social media exploded with humorous posts on the occasion of the visit.
Trump may be enjoyed by many about “Crazy Thursday” – a widespread campaign in China organized by fast food chain KFC, which involves food sales every Thursday – with some using artificial intelligence to create parody images of him enjoying fried chicken.
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Hashtags related to the trip spread throughout the day, with hashtags related to visiting the Temple of Heaven garnering more than 98 million views on the social media platform Weibo as of Thursday afternoon.
Some comments expressed hope that Trump would “have a good time” during his time in China, while others jokingly blamed Beijing’s hot weather on him.
Commentators were almost thrilled to have Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla chief Elon Musk as part of the accompanying US business delegation, with a related Weibo hashtag reaching over 52 million views.
Videos of Musk taking videos on his phone while standing on the steps of the Great Hall of the People also attracted attention.
“This scene is unlike anything you see in America,” one user said.
Another posted: “He looks like someone who has never seen the world before.”
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