International
oi-Swastika Sruti
President Xi Jinping of China on Thursday urged closer cooperation between Beijing and the US during his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House. President Xi remarked that the interests of both the nations were “closely bound up with each other” and added that there was great potential for collaboration.
On Thursday at the White House, Chinese President Xi Jinping met Donald Trump, urging sincere cooperation and highlighting shared interests, particularly in developing and managing Artificial Intelligence responsibly amid trade discussions.
This happened while Xi was making his first trip to the White House after over a decade when he held discussions with President Trump over various contentious issues including trade and artificial intelligence.
Xi Jinping: China, US Should ‘Cooperate With Sincerity’
Talking to Trump, Xi stated that China and the US should be sincere about their ties and cooperate in those fields in which they can.
“Cooperate sincerely, please,” said Xi.
Xi cited the strong economic and strategic ties between the world’s two biggest economies and stated that both had mutual interest in each other.
“China and the US have very much common interests. There is enough potential for us to cooperate,” Xi said.
Xi added, “China keeps its door wide open, welcomes American companies wanting to invest and do business there. We hope Chinese companies are treated fairly here in the United States.”
However, Xi was not blind enough to assume that the two countries working together would sort out all the problems of the world. Still, he believed that without collaboration between Beijing and Washington, most international issues could not be solved.
“Our cooperation will not solve all the problems in the world, but many of the world’s problems can hardly be resolved without our cooperation,” Xi said.
This was being said amid talks on trade and technology by both sides, despite their differences on security and geopolitics.
Xi Highlights Artificial Intelligence
The topic of artificial intelligence was one of those subjects in Xi’s speech.
According to Xi, as both China and the USA belong to the leaders in AI, they have a great responsibility to make sure that the technology will be developed in the interests of the people.
“Both China and the United States are leading nations in artificial intelligence,” he said.
In addition, Xi believes that the cooperation between China and the USA on the subject of AI has to concentrate not only on the development of the technology, but on the management of the technology.
“We have the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good,” he said. Moreover, according to Xi, the development of AI has to stay under the control of humans for the sake of the people’s well-being.
Nowadays, the topic of AI development becomes more and more relevant for US-China competition.
Trade And Other Differences Remain
Despite Xi’s call for cooperation, the meeting comes against the backdrop of significant differences between Washington and Beijing.
Trade, advanced technology, AI, Taiwan and other geopolitical issues remain important areas of discussion between the two governments. The two countries have also been working to maintain stability in their economic relationship after years of tariff and technology disputes.
The White House had announced Xi’s visit as a major diplomatic engagement, with President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosting the Chinese president and his wife, Peng Liyuan, for an official state visit.
