Chinese Pres. Xi calls first meeting with Trump a “success”

World Today

Donald Trump,Xi Jinping,Melania Trump,Peng Liyuan,Jared KushnerPresident Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with their wives, first lady Melania Trump and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan are seated during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Thursday, April 6, 2017, in Palm Beach, Fla. White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is seated at left. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day summit in the U.S. has come to a close.  The President has now returned home to Beijing. But, not before calling his first face-to-face encounter with U.S. President Donald Trump a “success.”

CGTN’s Sean Callebs reports from Palm Beach, Florida. 

In more than one way, the leaders of the world’s two largest economies found common ground in southern Florida.  Chinese President Xi Jinping saying seven hours of talks over two days brought China and the United States closer together.

“My delegation has been warmly received and welcomed by President Trump. And he has done a very good job with all of the arrangements,” said President Xi.

It certainly didn’t hurt to have Trump’s grandchildren, Arabella and Joseph, sing softly in Mandarin, to President Xi, and his wife Madame Peng Liyuan. Proud mother Ivanka Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner, a close aide to President Trump, put the video on social media.

But the real scene stealer was the fact the two presidents meshed so well.

China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi says the discussions provided the setting of a constructive tone of China-U.S. relations.

Two days of “productive talks,” and moving forward, high-level staff members from both nations will work together, focusing on diplomatic measures, security issues, and enhanced economic dialogue.

The progress had the U.S. host beaming.

“We look forward to being together many times in the future, and I believe lots of very bad potential problems will be going away,” said President Trump.

As candidate Donald Trump, he railed against China for what he labeled unfair trade, and vowed to chip away at the massive trade deficit.

President Xi says there are a thousand reasons for the two nations to work together -and there are a host of issues Xi is committed to. This includes continued work to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula; absolute support of the One China Policy, as well as reaffirming China’s stance on the South China Sea.

To the surprise of no one, Trump spent much of Saturday on the golf course, under the Florida sun.

President Xi is back in China, and while Trump did Tweet that goodwill and friendship has been forged between the two nations, in terms of trade—Trump said “only time will tell.”


Douglas Smith discusses the long-term implications of the Xi-Trump summit

The Xi-Trump meeting is expected to have a long-term impact on U.S.-China relations. CGTN’s Susan Roberts spoke with Douglas Smith, a former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, about the implications for addressing international issues.