China has issued its own official account of the recent summit between its leader and the U.S. president, following the release of a White House fact sheet. Beijing said the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to building a "constructive and stable strategic relationship" at the summit held in Washington, D.C., and reached agreements on issues including the Iran war, trade and narcotics. Most of the content overlapped with the U.S. fact sheet.
In a statement released on the 26th, China's Xinhua News Agency said that during President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States from the 23rd to the 25th, the two leaders "exchanged views in depth on the constructive and stable strategic relationship between China and the United States and on major international and regional issues, and agreed on eight outcomes."
The Xinhua statement, like the fact sheet released by the White House, summarizes the summit's results from China's perspective. Beijing listed as the first outcome an agreement to build a "constructive and stable strategic relationship between China and the United States based on respect, fairness and equality." The phrase "based on respect, fairness and equality" was newly added to the front of the "constructive and stable strategic relationship" formula that China had put forward at the Beijing summit in May this year.
The statement also said the two sides agreed to support each other in successfully hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, in November and the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Miami in December, stressing that "the two leaders expressed their willingness to attend the summits hosted by each other."
The two leaders also agreed that "Iran should duly fulfill its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, and that no country or institution should impose tolls on international waterways," China said. The position, which checks Iran's attempt to levy tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, is read as Xi lending weight to President Donald Trump's stance on Iran.
The fourth outcome cited was that the two leaders recalled that the United States and China were allies in World War II.
On trade, the two leaders "affirmed the positive role of the bilateral economic and trade consultation mechanism and the results achieved by the two economic and trade teams," the statement said. It again presented as outcomes items already agreed in May, including the establishment of mechanisms such as a trade committee, mutual and equivalent tariff reductions on goods worth $30 billion (about 40.8 trillion won), and an extension of the truce in the "tariff war."
China also said the two leaders agreed to exchange views on the risks and benefits of artificial intelligence through an "AI dialogue," to hold the next round of that dialogue in November, and to create communication channels for future AI-related incidents.
Where the two statements differ: coal and military cooperation
Most of China's statement that day overlapped with the White House fact sheet. But several items appeared only in the U.S. document and were omitted from the Chinese version: that tariff reductions would cover U.S. exports such as agricultural products, fish and seafood, logs and wood products, and medical devices, along with Chinese exports such as small home appliances, toys and children's car seats; and that China plans to import at least 10 million tons of U.S. coal in each of 2027 and 2028.
On rare earths and other critical minerals, a key agenda item at the summit, the White House said the two sides "are continuing consultations to address U.S. concerns about supply chain shortages" and are "aiming to restore appropriate levels of supply." China made no mention of the rare earth issue.
The White House also said "the two leaders discussed ongoing international issues including Russia, North Korea and Iran," while the Chinese side made no reference at all to Russia or North Korea.
Agreements between the two countries' militaries, by contrast, appeared only in the Chinese statement. China said the two militaries "agreed to conclude at an early date a memorandum of understanding on strengthening crisis communication and prevention, and to continue cooperating on the search for the remains of U.S. servicemen missing in China."
Meanwhile, Chinese state media drew attention with an in-depth report on examples of economic cooperation between the two countries shortly after the summit.
Global Times, an English-language newspaper affiliated with the People's Daily, the official organ of the Chinese Communist Party, reported on the 25th that Chinese companies are testing their competitiveness in the U.S. market while American firms are expanding research and development and localizing production in China. The outlet said Chinese and U.S. companies "are not facing an either-or, zero-sum game in many areas," and cited experts as arguing that stronger cooperation could build more complete and mutually complementary industrial chains. Among Chinese state media, Global Times primarily targets foreign audiences and actively represents the government's positions on diplomatic and security issues.
The article was published immediately after the Washington summit between Xi and Trump on the 24th and is seen as a follow-up message reinforcing Xi's remarks at the meeting on the need for cooperation between the two countries.
