Exclusive
Development without Dominance Development without Dominance China Capital stories reveal how ICBC advanced China’s political goals across four continents China Capital stories reveal how ICBC advanced China’s political goals across four continents Bangladesh’s Hill Country Needs Dialogue, Not More Bureaucracy Bangladesh’s Hill Country Needs Dialogue, Not More Bureaucracy
Current Affairs

Xi says China, US must keep AI under human control at Trump’s White House welcome

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account.
Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive…

By Samantha Johnson / September 24, 2026

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account.

Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive boots-on-the-ground reporting from our US and China bureaus. Subscribe now with great savings to stay ahead.
President Xi Jinping and China’s first lady Peng Liyuan have arrived at the White House, where US President Donald Trump greeted Xi with a handshake. The visit marks Xi’s first trip to the US in nearly a decade, following Trump’s trip to Beijing in May.

At the White House welcome, Trump praised the Flying Tigers, a team of US volunteers formed to help fight the Japanese invasion of China in 1941, and said the US and China could achieve much by focusing on common interests.

Xi echoed the wartime theme, saying Chinese and Americans had “fought shoulder to shoulder against fascist aggression” during the second world war. He also called both countries’ leaders in artificial intelligence and said they shared a responsibility to develop it for the public good and keep it under human control.

Xi says China, US must keep AI under human control at White House speech

The two leaders are due to hold formal talks. US first lady Melania Trump is scheduled to accompany Peng to the National Museum of Asian Art, before both couples reunite for a state dinner this evening.

Nevertheless, the trip – and Trump’s unprecedented in-person welcome at Joint Base Andrews – come amid a fluctuating US-China relationship. Both Washington and Beijing are jockeying for position in arenas as diverse as trade, artificial intelligence (AI), resources and global influence.

Reporting by Teresa Frontado, Mark Magnier, Pinghui Zhuang, Lucy Quaggin, Nayan Seth, Han Li, Khushboo Razdan, Vincent Chow, Holly Chik, Siqi Ji and Dewey Sim

All times given in blog entries are Eastern Time (UTC-5, HKT-13)

More from our coverage:

Don't Miss: