[Video] Trump and Xi meet again: What changed and what didn’t

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met again, and the internet has a new meme: Trump’s wince versus Xi’s poker face. It follows their 14-second handshake in Beijing in May, which also went viral. So how did the two summits compare, and what changed?

Pomp and pageantry

When Trump arrived in Beijing in May, he was greeted at the airport by Chinese Vice-Premier Han Zheng. In September, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump personally welcomed Xi and Madame Peng Liyuan on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, with a 21-gun salute and a military flyover. It was the first time in 11 years that a US president had greeted a foreign leader there; the last was Pope Francis in 2015. 

The official ceremonies were equally grand. In Beijing, the two leaders inspected a guard of honour at the Great Hall of the People before being greeted by children waving US and Chinese flags. In Washington, they watched a military review in the Rose Garden, capped by a flyover of a B-2 stealth bomber and four F-22 fighter jets.

The tours were very different. Xi took Trump to the Temple of Heaven, making him only the second sitting US president known to have visited, after Gerald Ford in 1975, and then inside the Zhongnanhai leadership compound. Trump showed Xi the White House’s Presidential Walk of Fame, where Joe Biden’s portrait has been replaced by a photo of an autopen, drawing a laugh from Xi. He then showed Xi his Marine One and his new granite helipad, calling Xi “an expert on stone”. Melania Trump, who skipped the Beijing trip, took Peng to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, where a children’s choir from a local Chinese school sang the folk song “Jasmine Flower”.

In Beijing, the state banquet doubled as a gathering of Chinese and American tech leaders. At the White House, the American tech titans were back, but their Chinese counterparts were absent. On the menu, both hosts served up a little diplomacy on a plate. Beijing did not officially release its menu, but one circulating online paired Chinese classics such as Peking duck and crispy beef with Western touches, including salmon with mustard sauce and tiramisu, alongside Chinese wines. In Washington, American ingredients got a Chinese twist, with squash velouté finished with scallion oil and sesame-crusted sea bass with baby bok choy. Guests toasted with Schramsberg sparkling wine, honouring the historic “Toast to Peace” raised by Richard Nixon and Zhou Enlai in Beijing in 1972.

Managing the rivalry

Xi’s core message did not change. In Beijing, he said both countries “stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation”. He repeated the point in Washington, but spoke more openly about competition: “We do not need to avoid mentioning competition, but our competition should be a healthy one and should be kept within bounds.” On both visits, he said China’s rejuvenation and “making America great again” could “go hand in hand”.

Trump was consistent in his praise for Xi and their personal rapport. But at the White House state dinner, he added a caveat, noting that the two leaders “represent different systems”, even as he insisted the two countries had “never gotten along better”.

Controversial moments

Throughout the visit, protesters staged multiple demonstrations in Washington, including outside the White House during the state dinner, chanting “Free Hong Kong”, “Free Tibet” and “Free Jimmy Lai”.

The leaders’ visit to the National Archives was also reportedly cut short. Citing unnamed sources, the Taipei Times said it lasted just ten minutes after the Chinese delegation objected to viewing the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco, a document often cited in debates over Taiwan’s status.

Taiwan and Iran remain sticking points

In private talks, Taiwan and Iran featured in both summits. In May, Xi called Taiwan the most important issue in the relationship, warning that mishandling it could put ties in “great jeopardy”, and Trump later said he was not looking for Taiwan to declare independence. In September, Xi urged the US to actively “oppose” Taiwan independence, a step beyond Washington’s position that it does not “support” it. 

On Iran, the two sides agreed in May that Tehran must never have a nuclear weapon and that the Strait of Hormuz must stay open. In September, according to US ambassador David Perdue, Trump told Xi that any Chinese support for Iran was “totally unacceptable”, and Perdue said Beijing had since “pulled some things down”. 

The two sides also agreed to set up a dedicated communication channel on AI and extended their trade truce to 10 January.

Four months apart, many of the same issues remain on the table. The summits produced new mechanisms and agreements, but left the core disputes unresolved. Where US-China relations go from here, only time will tell.

Related: Trump-Xi summit: Red carpet and bombers reveal new era of managed rivalry | [Video] US–China tech ties revealed at Xi’s power banquet