President Donald Trump is insistent that US-China relations are good and getting better despite deep differences on key issues.
The US president started his last day in Beijing by boasting on social media that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had “congratulated me on so many tremendous successes” and had been referring only to his predecessor, former president Joe Biden, when he “very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation”.
But Mr Trump’s rosy outlook on the US-China relationship collides with some difficult truths about the thorniest issues between the two superpowers.
Beijing has shown little public interest in US entreaties to get more involved in solving the conflict in Iran, even though Mr Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Mr Xi had, in their conversations, offered to help.
And the White House believes China can still do more to stem the flow of Chinese-made precursor chemicals into Mexico, used to make illicit fentanyl that has wreaked havoc on many US communities.
Mr Xi, meanwhile, warned Mr Trump during private talks that their differences on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, if handled poorly, could hurtle the world’s dominant powers toward “clashes and even conflicts,” according to Chinese government officials.
Mr Xi welcomed Mr Trump at his official residence, Zhongnanhai, on Friday for the final talks of the summit before the US leader makes the long journey back to Washington.
The compound is wrapped around two manmade lakes that had been built for the pleasure of emperors.
I think he’s a warm person, actually. But he’s all business.
Zhongnanhai is often compared to the White House, the Kremlin or South Korea’s Blue House.
But unlike the other presidential residences, Zhongnanhai does not serve as the main venue for diplomatic visits.
The invitation appears to be an attempt by Mr Xi to extend a personal touch to a US leader who appreciates big gestures.
“I think he’s a warm person, actually. But he’s all business,” Mr Trump said of Mr Xi in the Fox News interview. “There’s no games.”
Mr Xi also welcomed former president Barack Obama to Zhongnanhai in 2014. The two leaders took an evening stroll and had dinner there.
Before the final talks got Friday underway, China’s foreign ministry issued a statement asserting that Mr Xi and Mr Trump’s meetings were injecting “stability” into the world.
