The Latest: Presidents Xi and Trump kick off their high-profile summit in Beijing

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Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump have started a crucial series of meetings in Beijing on Thursday in a U.S.-China summit where few breakthroughs are expected on divisive issues ranging from the Iran war, trade, technology and Taiwan.

Trump hopes to focus talks on trade and deals for China to buy more agricultural products and passenger planes, setting up a board to address their differences and avoid a repeat of the trade war ignited last year after Trump’s tariff hikes.

Xi will likely bring up America’s decision to sell weapons to Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own territory. Trump in December authorized an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan, but has not yet moved forward with delivery.

Stability in the relationship is the main goal of the two-day summit. Trump is expected to leave just after midday Friday after a final private meeting with Xi.

The war with Iran is also likely to be a key topic. Ahead of the meetings, Trump hoped China would use its considerable leverage to prod Iran to agree to U.S. terms to end the two-month old war or reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz, but he has tempered those calls ahead of the summit.

Here is the Latest:

The U.S. and China should be “partners rather than rivals,” Xi told Trump ahead of their bilateral talks.

“I always believed that the common interests between China and the U.S. outweigh their differences,” Xi said. “Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both.”

Xi added that he wanted 2026 to be a “landmark year” in the countries’

The Chinese leader took a moment to note the coming anniversary — something that is a big deal for Trump.

The massive months-long celebration is to include a “Great American State Fair” in Washington and a UFC fight night on the South Lawn of the White House.

“This year marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. I extend my congratulations to you and to the American people,” Xi said. He added, “I firmly believe the common interests between China and the United States are bigger than our differences.”

The leaders offered warm words about each other and hope for the future of U.S-China relations as they opened their bilateral talks.

But Xi sounded more cautionary about what lies ahead for the world’s biggest economic powers.

“Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both,” Xi said. “The two countries should be partners rather than rivals, achieve success together and pursue common prosperity, and chart a correct path for major-country relations in the new era.”

In remarks welcoming Trump, Xi name-checked an ancient Greek historian to express his hopes that the U.S. and China can avoid conflict, saying that history, the world and its people were asking “whether the two countries can transcend the “Thucydides Trap” and forge a new model for relations between major powers.

”He was using a term that’s popular in foreign policy studies, referring to the idea that when a rising power threatens to displace an established power, the result is often war.

It comes from Thucydides’ account of the destructive Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, in which he remarked that “It was the rise of Athens, and the fear that rise engendered in Sparta, that made war inevitable.”

The Chinese leader in his opening remarks at the summit underscored the importance of the moment for the two world powers and said the question before China and the United States is “whether the two countries can work together to meet challenges and bring greater stability to the world.”

“Can we, in the interest of the well-being of our two peoples and the future of humanity, build a brighter future together for our bilateral relations?” Xi said.

In his opening comments before reporters to start the meeting, Trump only made glancing allusion to past difficulties in his yearslong relationship with Xi.

Those include two trade wars, tensions over U.S. support for Taiwan — and Trump's impatience with Beijing over the flow precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.

He also made no mention of their differences over the Iran war.

“You’re a great leader, sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true,” Trump said.

Trump and Xi stood side by side for the playing of their countries’ national anthems on Thursday as their summit got underway.

The leaders than walked the red carpet, accompanied by a goose stepping Chinese service member, to inspect the military honor guard.

Trump and Xi also paused for a moment in front of dozens of flower-waiving children gathered for the ceremony.

Trump has talked up his personal rapport with Xi despite deep differences on a slew of issues.

Sen. Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that Trump would be misguided to put too much stock in his personal dynamic with the Chinese leader.

“We cannot afford to trade lasting American strength for a short-term political win or to mistake a photo op for real strategic progress,” Warner said. “Any agreement reached with Beijing during this summit must deliver tangible results for American workers, our security, and our long-term competitiveness.”

The secretary of state, who is with Trump in Beijing, said administration officials will underscore that “economies are melting down because of this crisis” and that will result in consumers “buying less Chinese product.”

“So it’s in their interest to resolve this,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf.”

The message contrasts with comments by Trump, who downplayed differences with Xi over Iran before departing from Washington.

“We have a lot of things to discuss,” Trump told reporters. “I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control.”

The president arrived in Beijing late on Wednesday. On Thursday, the summit begins in earnest.

China's Xi will officially welcome Trump during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, followed by bilateral talks.

Then there’s some cultural programming — a visit to the Temple of Heaven — before a state banquet capping the day.

This trip is expected to be long on pageantry and symbolism but neither side has yet offered concrete details on what Trump will come away with.

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The Great Hall of the People was built in 1959 for the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It’s a massive structure, some 171,800 square meters or 42.5 acres, on the western side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

This is where China hosts most of its foreign dignitaries, as well as key events like the annual meeting of its ceremonial legislature. The hall covers an area bigger than the Forbidden Palace.

Construction of the building was completed in a quick 10 months, and mostly with manpower. China was not heavily industrialized and the chief engineer for the project at the time, Yang Sixin, told state media that “the bricks that needed to go up were all transported by hand, carried in baskets with a pole. I’ve also carried the bricks up myself.”

While the structure’s size and towering structure is similar to buildings found in the Soviet style, its decorations inside were designed by referencing Chinese history, such as floral designs from the Tang dynasty.