By Trevor Hunnicutt and David Brunnstrom
WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump will follow up his summit with Xi Jinping by taking the Chinese leader on Friday to the US National Archives, where they are expected to stress views about the history and direction of ties between their countries.
Thursday’s lavish state summit at the White House appeared heavy on symbolism but light on substance, with no sign of major breakthroughs between the world’s biggest economies.
Still, Trump highlighted progress under a bilateral trade mechanism, citing what he described as increased market access for US farmers and ranchers, while both leaders identified artificial intelligence as an area for cooperation.
Trump said in remarks welcoming Xi they would see some of the greatest treasures of US history at the National Archives, including the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
They would also see “artifacts testifying to the long and cherished relationship” between China and the United States and their “cultural exchanges,” he said.
“Just as our ancestors reached across the ocean centuries ago to trade, to learn, and to build a better world, our two countries do really the same thing, and we’re very proud of it and the relationship,” Trump said.
China has not commented on the visit to the archives, but analysts say Xi may be keen to see records relating to the US switch of recognition to communist China from Taiwan in 1979.
CHINA PRESSES ON TAIWAN
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own and Xi has long sought to persuade Trump to state publicly that the United States opposes Taiwan’s independence, rather than saying only that it does not support independence, which has been Washington’s formulation for decades.
He is also keen to get the US to halt arms sales to the island.
As expected, Xi pressed Trump on Taiwan on Thursday, saying he hoped the United States would “handle the Taiwan question with prudence.” China’s state news agency also reported that Xi “hopes the US side will adhere to the correct position of opposing ‘Taiwan independence’.”
While the United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei, Washington is its most important international backer and is bound by US law to provide it with the means to defend itself.
America’s Asian allies will watch closely to see how Trump talks about Taiwan following Xi’s visit.
After his May summit with Xi, Trump, whose administration in December approved an $11 billion arms sale package to Taiwan, said he was holding a second package, worth some $14 billion, in abeyance and described it as a “very good negotiating chip.”
Craig Singleton of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank said Beijing may believe it has established a new baseline on Taiwan with Trump.
He said Xi’s use of the word “adhere” was revealing because “it implies Beijing believes Washington is already behaving in ways it wants.”
“In the context of the current standdown on Taiwan arms sales, China may increasingly view that restraint as a new baseline rather than a temporary pause,” he said.
“Beijing’s objective is to get Trump to absorb Chinese red lines into his own definition of a stable relationship.”
On Thursday, Senate Democrats criticized the summit, saying Trump had failed to secure meaningful concessions from Beijing on trade, security, artificial intelligence or human rights.
They also criticized Trump for failing to publicly address China’s military pressure on Taiwan and called for the immediate delivery of approved military aid and arms sales to the island.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Trevor Hunnicutt; additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Simon Lewis; Editing by Don Durfee and Stephen Coates)
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