China’s Xi Jinping wraps up visit to the US

US President Donald Trump yesterday took Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit the National Archives, showing off the texts of US democracy to the leader of the world’s most powerful communist country to cap off a three-day state visit criticized for being heavy on pomp and light on substance.

Xi was expected to depart Washington after touring the nation’s vault of records, where the Declaration of Independence, the constitution and the Bill of Rights are held.

The two leaders have made a show of working to preserve harmony between the world’s two largest economies, although there were no major breakthroughs on issues such as trade or the safety of artificial intelligence.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and US President Donald Trump speak on the steps of the White House in Washington on Thursday.

Photo: AFP

Trump has been seeking to demonize Democrats as communists during the run-up to the November midterm elections, a message that has been muddied by the red-carpet treatment he has given Xi this week.

The visit comes as the US celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, and Trump on Thursday said he wanted to show Xi “some of the greatest treasures of that proud history.”

The archives has a special exhibition marking the semiquincentennial, titled “The American Story,” which highlights the country’s accomplishments and advances, along with images depicting its darker moments.

Trump showed Xi one copy of the Declaration of Independence on Thursday — a wall-mounted copy he keeps in the Oval Office.

The US president also said he wanted to show Xi artifacts about the relationship between the two countries.

“Just as our ancestors reached across the ocean centuries ago to trade, to learn, and to build a better world, our two countries do really the same thing, and we’re very proud of it,” he said.

Xi’s day began at the White House, where Trump and first lady Melania Trump hosted the Chinese leader and his wife, Peng Liyuan (彭?媛), for tea. Their visit falls during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a national holiday when families traditionally gather to celebrate the end of harvest, sharing mooncakes — round pastries filled with a sweet paste — over tea.

The Trumps feted their guests on Thursday night with a black-tie state dinner attended by technology industry titans. Earlier in the day, Trump gave Xi a personal tour of his White House flourishes, including a gallery wall of presidents and a new 30m-long granite helicopter landing pad.

Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan toured the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.

The two leaders met behind closed doors for 90 minutes on Thursday, when they discussed issues such as the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, according to the official Chinese government readout of the meeting.

The White House has not provided any information about the private talks.