Xi calls for China, US to be 'partners not rivals' as high-stakes talks with Trump kick off in Beijing

China’s Xi Jinping called for Washington and Beijing to be “partners not rivals” as two days of talks with US President Donald Trump kicked off on Thursday. The day began with Xi welcoming US President Trump with a handshake at the opulent Great Hall of the People. Accompanied by Trump, Xi shook hands with several US officials, including Pentagon Peter Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was known throughout his career as a fierce opponent of Beijing. Trump and Xi stood in the centre as a Chinese military band played The Star-Spangled Banner and then the Chinese national anthem as cannons fired. Jumping schoolchildren in brightly coloured outfits waving US and Chinese flags chanted “welcome, welcome” as Trump and Xi walked past them in the square. “You’re a great leader, sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway,” Trump later told Xi as they sat across from each other, flanked by their delegations. “There are those who say this may be the biggest summit ever … It’s an honour to be with you. It’s an honour to be your friend and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before,” Trump said. For his part, the Chinese president said the two countries should be “partners and not rivals”. “A stable China-US relationship is a boon for the world. Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both. We should be partners and not rivals,” Xi said. Xi added he was “happy” to receive Trump for the US leader’s first trip to China since 2017 as “the world has arrived at a new crossroads”. At the same time, Chinese state media said Xi told Trump that their countries could come into conflict if the Taiwan issue is mishandled. “The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV. “If mishandled, the two nations could collide or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a highly perilous situation,” he said. Xi also