US President Donald Trump (left) shakes hands and speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping after their talks at Gimhae Air Base near Gimhae International Airport in Busan on Oct. 30 last year. [AFP]
US President Donald Trump (left) shakes hands and speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping after their talks at Gimhae Air Base near Gimhae International Airport in Busan on Oct. 30 last year. [AFP]

AI competition and the so-called "Busan truce" on tariffs are expected to dominate next week's summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with senior American officials saying the two leaders plan to exchange views on technology rivalry and trade.

According to AP, Reuters and Kyodo News, US officials said in a telephone briefing with reporters Friday that the two leaders would discuss "AI issues" and the "Busan truce" — a reference to the agreement Trump and Xi reached in Busan in late October last year, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, to halt an escalation of their tariff war.

The AI agenda is expected to cover the growing international debate over regulating the pace of AI development, as well as allegations that Chinese companies have stolen US AI technology and related information.

Also drawing attention is the gathering of major US tech CEOs on the sidelines of the summit. A state dinner set for Wednesday will bring together Amazon's Jeff Bezos, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Apple's Tim Cook, Tesla's Elon Musk, Nvidia's Jensen Huang and Dell Technologies' Michael Dell — leaders of companies at the heart of the US-China technology competition in AI, semiconductors and electric vehicles. How American industry's interests will be reflected in the summit's discussions on AI and advanced technology is expected to be closely watched.

On tariffs — the other central issue on the summit agenda — tensions over US trade policy toward China and Beijing's responses have persisted even after the Busan truce. The talks are expected to address how durably the existing tariff agreement can hold, as well as ways to prevent further escalation of bilateral trade and economic friction.

Trump plans to personally greet Xi upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews near Washington on Wednesday, when Xi begins a state visit to the US capital. It is unusual for a US president to meet a foreign leader on the tarmac, and the gesture is seen as an exceptionally high level of protocol.

On Thursday, an official welcoming ceremony will be held at the White House, followed by a military honor guard review and the summit itself in the Rose Garden, then a state dinner. Xi is scheduled to return to China on Friday.

Before Xi's arrival, Trump is set to hold a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next week.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz named British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez among the leaders Trump would meet, speaking during the briefing. Trump is also scheduled to hold talks with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.


balme@heraldcorp.com