TRUMP AND XI PUT ON A SHOW, BUT THEIR RIVALRY COULD STILL HIT YOUR POCKET - KNews 25/9
Behind the White House ceremony, the U.S. and China remain divided over trade, AI and critical minerals, with consequences far beyond Washington.
The red carpet was rolled out, the military band was ready and the two first ladies stood neatly beside their husbands.
The smiles, however, appeared to require a little more effort.
A Reuters photograph of U.S. President Donald Trump alongside first lady Melania Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, captured the mood surrounding Xi’s high-profile visit to Washington: carefully staged cordiality covering a relationship that remains deeply complicated.
Trump took the unusual step of personally greeting Xi when the Chinese leader arrived near Washington, before welcoming him to the White House for talks and a state dinner. The ceremony was grand, but the real business involved matters that can affect everything from the price of electronics and electric cars to global shipping, investment and household bills.
At the center of the discussions was the fragile trade truce between the United States and China, which is due to expire in November.
The two countries have stepped back from the punishing tariff battle that once threatened to make Chinese goods much more expensive in the United States and American products harder to sell in China. But many of the promises made during Trump’s visit to Beijing in May remain unfinished.
China has yet to fully deliver on commitments involving American agricultural products, Boeing aircraft and the supply of rare-earth minerals. Washington and Beijing have also made limited progress on plans to reduce tariffs on goods considered non-sensitive.
Those minerals may sound like something buried deep in an economics report, but they are essential to everyday technology. They are used in smartphones, electric vehicles, renewable-energy equipment and advanced defence systems.
China dominates much of the global rare-earth supply chain, giving Beijing considerable influence when relations with Washington deteriorate. Any new restrictions can disrupt factories, delay products and eventually push up prices around the world, including in small, import-dependent markets such as Cyprus.
Then there is artificial intelligence, where cooperation and competition are happening at the same time.
The United States wants to remain ahead in the development of powerful AI systems and advanced computer chips. China is rapidly closing the gap, while accusing Washington of using export restrictions to hold back Chinese technology.
U.S. officials have accused some Chinese companies of copying American AI models, an allegation Beijing has rejected. Washington has also restricted Chinese access to advanced chips, while China has introduced its own rules governing AI systems and the content they produce.
One proposal discussed ahead of the summit was an emergency notification system for serious AI incidents, effectively a technological version of a Cold War hotline. The idea is that if an AI system interfered with critical infrastructure, military communications or nuclear command networks, the two governments would have a way to establish whether they were dealing with an accident or an attack.
The talks also covered Taiwan, where China strongly opposes U.S. military support for the self-governing island, and Iran, where Washington wants Beijing to use its economic influence to help contain the conflict.
However, no sweeping agreement was expected. Both leaders appear more interested in preventing their rivalry from spinning out of control than in resolving the disputes dividing them.
That may sound underwhelming after the flags, formal dinners and carefully choreographed handshakes. But when the countries involved are the world’s two largest economies and two nuclear powers competing for dominance in AI, simply keeping the conversation going has value.
For Cyprus, this is not distant superpower theatre. A renewed tariff war could affect the cost of imported goods, shipping, tourism, investment, and technology. Restrictions on minerals or computer chips could also make everything from cars and phones to solar-energy equipment more expensive or harder to obtain.
So while the official photographs showed two presidential couples standing together at the White House, Trump’s stern expression may have told the more honest story.
The guests were smiling for the cameras. The rivalry had not gone anywhere.
*Source: AP News and Reuters
