China-US Summit. Xi: 'Partners, not rivals', but issues warning on Taiwan. Eyes on Nvidia

A scenario that Xi urged the Americans to 'inaugurate a new paradigm in relations between great powers' before concluding by reiterating - for the umpteenth time since the US administration embarked on its tariff war - that 'cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both'.

when he spoke at the start of the summit, the US president instead steered clear of substantive issues and told Xi that the meeting was "an honour like few others I have ever had", foreshadowing "a fantastic future" for the two countries and emphasising that he had "great respect" for the Chinese leader. He later called the summit "extremely productive" and invited Xi to the White House on 24 September.

The summit between Xi and Trump is a long-awaited one, already postponed once due to the war in Iran, which analysts say should send signals of stabilisation in relations between the two countries, even if it is unlikely to lead to substantial news on trade. "Yesterday," Xi cautiously said, "our economic and trade teams produced generally balanced and positive results. This is good news for the citizens of the two countries and for the whole world'.

At the centre of Trump's two-day Chinese meetings - in addition to the US tariff war and limits on rare earth exports with which Beijing responded - will be the Middle East conflict and US-Taiwan relations.

The two leaders arrive at this summit, which marks the first trip by an American president to China in almost a decade, in very different conditions. Trump comes to the talks with a position that has become progressively weaker in recent months. Partly because the US courts have limited his ability to impose tariffs at will, and partly because the war with Iran has driven up inflation and greatly increased the chances of the Republicans losing control of at least one house of Congress in November.

Although the Chinese economy is slowing down, Xi does not face comparable economic or political pressures.

The US President is accompanied by, among others, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Also travelling with the top brass of the Trump administration is a large delegation of CEOs including Jensen Huang of Nvidia, Elon Musk of Tesla and Tim Cook of Apple, three American industrial giants with huge interests in China.

The unexpected presence of the number one of Nvidia did not go unnoticed. The ceremony gave Huang a prominent place - ahead of Elon Musk and Tim Cook. Not a random choice, because the negotiations on the sale of US microprocessors to China are among the most sensitive at the summit. The US Department of Commerce has given its go-ahead for a dozen Chinese companies - including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance and distributors such as Lenovo and Foxconn - to buy up to 75 thousand H200 chips, the second most advanced processor produced by Nvidia, but for the moment there have been no deliveries.

The US has restricted the sale of latest-generation chips to China in an attempt to maintain its competitive advantage in artificial intelligence, but companies - from Nvidia to its Chinese customers - are pressing for the constraints to be relaxed, while the US military establishment is looking at the supply side with concern.

Trump's mission to China will offer several opportunities for direct contact with Xi Jinping. After official talks on Thursday morning, the two leaders visited the Temple of Heaven, a complex formerly used for sacrificial rites, and will attend a state banquet on Thursday, before having tea and lunch together on Friday.