Trump and Xi see tensions flare over AI, trade and Iran but still seek stability

U.S. President Donald Trump is hosting Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington this week as economic and tech competition escalates between the two countries

WASHINGTON -- State visits usually occur when two countries are on warm terms, but U.S. President Donald Trump is hosting Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington this week as their economic and tech competition is only escalating, especially through an artificial intelligence race .

Neither expects any grand bargain, but the leaders are expected to play nice in their third meeting since Trump returned to the White House to try to steady fragile ties. That is despite the world’s two largest economies seeking the upper hand on AI developments and trade, while pushing for leverage in persistent hot spots like Iran and Taiwan.

“The fact that they are meeting, and there’s dialogue occurring and building that relationship, is probably as important as outcomes from the meeting,” said Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican who advises Trump on China and recently traveled there to lay groundwork for the summit.

Cui Tiankai, a former Chinese ambassador to the U.S., said at a recent forum in Beijing that there are “always problems, sometimes very big problems" between the two countries, but "we'll make our best efforts to maintain overall stability.”

Xi's visit to Washington, which begins Wednesday, is his first in 10 years. He and Trump are meeting after their countries climbed down from last year's intense trade war , where they traded tit-for-tat sky-high tariffs that threatened the global economy . China also choked off its world-leading supplies of critical minerals needed in products from electric cars to fighter jets.

The U.S. is not only trying to balance trade but also maintain its tech dominance to protect national security and global leadership. China, which has amassed tremendous economic, technological and military power over the past several years to close gaps with the U.S., is seeking to solidify its place in the global order .

The stability both sides are seeking is “for deeply competitive reasons,” said Evan Medeiros, a senior adviser at The Asia Group consultancy. “This is basically two geopolitical strongmen circling each other on the playground, trying to determine what their next move may be.”

The countries appeared to be entering a “new normal” of “overall stability” despite blacklisting each other's companies and restricting the flow of high-tech products, said Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

The leaders now should produce deals that their governments can carry out, he said, noting that “we need to move fast.”

Developing AI technology has emerged as a key battleground, with both sides showing little interest in slowing down despite warnings from tech CEOs about threats that rogue AI could pose to humanity. “Whoever wins AI wins,” Trump has repeatedly said.

He claimed on social media Monday that the U.S.