By WILL WEISSERT and AAMER MADHANI<\/p>\n
BEIJING (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> began his trip to Beijing on Thursday by telling Xi Jinping \u201cit\u2019s an honor to be your friend,\u201d even as his Chinese counterpart offered a cautionary warning about avoiding a possible clash between the two nations. <\/p>\n The stark contrast in tone underscored just how far apart the leaders remain on thorny issues including the war in Iran, trade disputes and Washington\u2019s relationship with Taiwan \u2014 and suggested that Trump and Xi\u2019s highly anticipated meetings are likely to be longer on pageantry and symbolism<\/a> than major breakthroughs.<\/p>\n In remarks before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People moved behind closed doors, Trump was full of platitudes, saying of Xi, \u201cYou\u2019re a great leader. Sometimes people don\u2019t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an honor to be with you. It\u2019s an honor to be your friend,\u201d Trump said before promising that \u201cthe relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.\u201d <\/p>\n Xi was darker, expressing hope that the U.S. and China can avoid conflict while saying that history, and the world were asking \u201cwhether the two countries can transcend the \u2018Thucydides Trap\u2019 and forge a new model for relations between major powers.\u201d <\/p>\n China\u2019s leader used a term popular in foreign policy studies, referring to the idea that when a rising power threatens to displace<\/a> an established power, the result is often war. <\/p>\n \u201cCooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both,\u201d Xi said. \u201cThe two countries should be partners rather than rivals, achieve success together and pursue common prosperity, and chart a correct path for major-country relations in the new era.\u201d<\/p>\n Xi has mentioned \u201cThucydides Trap\u201d before with regards to U.S.-China relations, dating back to as early as 2014. China\u2019s leader included it in his messages to Trump\u2019s predecessor, Democratic President Joe Biden, in 2022 and 2024. Still, his evoking the term as Trump began his visit with optimism was noteworthy. <\/p>\n Comments follow elaborate welcome ceremony<\/p>\n The remarks from each followed a sweeping greeting for Trump outside the Great Hall of the People, an imposing building on Tiananmen Square that houses China\u2019s legislature. Cannons boomed a welcome salute and a band played \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner\u201d and China\u2019s national anthem. <\/p>\n The hall featured giant, red-carpeted steps and huge expanses of marble, where soldiers hung large American and Chinese flags. School children in bright colors offered a welcome routine, jumping as the girls waved flowers and the boys hoisted American and Chinese flags while the two leaders walked past them.<\/p>\n Later, the Republican U.S. president is set to visit the Temple of Heaven, a religious complex dating to the 15th century that symbolizes the relationship between heaven and earth. Trump and Xi will also attend a state banquet.<\/p>\n The White House has insisted that Trump wouldn\u2019t be making the trip without an eye toward securing results before he leaves \u2014 suggesting there could be announcements coming on trade<\/a>, including a Chinese commitment to buy U.S. soybeans, beef and aircraft. Trump administration officials also want to work toward establishing a Board of Trade with China to address commercial differences between the countries.<\/p>\n But neither side has yet offered concrete details on what might come out of the three-day visit at a time when Beijing\u2019s close economic ties to Iran<\/a> could complicate matters. <\/p>\n Economic questions still loom <\/p>\n Trump\u2019s trip comes as Iran continues to dominate<\/a> his domestic agenda and stoke fears about the prospect of a weakening U.S. economy<\/a> as the election season ahead of November\u2019s midterms<\/a> \u2014 when Republicans will be looking to maintain control of Congress<\/a> \u2014 begins heating up. <\/p>\n The U.S. and Israel\u2019s war in Iran has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, stranding oil and natural gas tankers and causing energy prices to spike, threatening global economic growth. <\/p>\n Spending so much time with Xi will afford ample time for potentially tricky discussions, on Iran and trade, but also Taiwan and a possible three-way nuclear arms deal featuring Washington, Beijing and Russia.<\/p>\n Progress beyond pleasantries might prove elusive.<\/p>\n Back in Washington, the politics of the war got more complicated. Senate Republicans again blocked Democratic legislation to halt hostilities in Iran \u2014 but Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski<\/a> bucked her party, becoming the third Republican in the chamber to vote against continuing the war.<\/p>\n China is the largest purchaser of Iranian oil<\/a>, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Fox News\u2019 Sean Hannity that Trump will make the case for Beijing to exert its influence on Iran, noting that administration officials will underscore that \u201ceconomies are melting down because of this crisis\u201d which means consumers are \u201cbuying less Chinese product.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s in their interest to resolve this,\u201d Rubio said of Chinese officials. \u201cWe hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they\u2019re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf.\u201d<\/p>\n That contradicted Trump, who has downplayed suggestions that he\u2019ll press Xi to do more to pressure Iran to open the strait. The president also says pressure on the U.S. economy won\u2019t compromise U.S. demands as he negotiates with Iran in the midst of a fragile ceasefire<\/a>. Asked as he left the White House if the financial stability of ordinary Americans factors into Iranian negotiations, Trump responded, \u201cNot even a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think about Americans\u2019 financial situation. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,\u201d Trump said, before going on to suggest that \u201cevery American understands\u201d such a position. <\/p>\n Mixed messaging was also evident on inflation and the war, however, as Vice President JD Vance denied Trump\u2019s own words that the U.S. economy wasn\u2019t a major factor in seeking a resolution with Tehran. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think the president said that,\u201d Vance said after being asked about Trump\u2019s comments. \u201cI think that\u2019s a misrepresentation of what the president said.\u201d<\/p>\n Trade and Taiwan discussions also could be intense<\/p>\n Looming large is the status of Taiwan, given that China is displeased with U.S. plans to sell weapons to the self-governing island that the Chinese government claims as part of its territory.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has approved an $11 billion weapons package<\/a> for Taiwan, but has yet to begin fulfilling it. Trump has also demonstrated greater ambivalence toward Taiwan<\/a> \u2014 an approach that\u2019s raising questions about whether he might be open to dialing back support for the island democracy.<\/p>\n Taiwan is the world\u2019s leading chipmaker, producing components essential to the development of artificial intelligence. Trump has sought to bolster trade deals with Taiwan that can stimulate chip production in the U.S.<\/p>\n Trump personally called Nvidia\u2019s Jensen Huang<\/a> to invite him to hop on Air Force One during a refueling stop in Alaska on the way to Beijing. He\u2019s one of a large group of CEOs<\/a> from the tech, defense, finance and agriculture sectors who are part of the delegation. <\/p>\n