Trump and Xi strike cordial tone at summit amid underlying tensions

On Thursday, the two leaders will hold meetings where Trump and Xi are expected to talk about artificial intelligence, rare earths, trade and geopolitics such as Iran and Taiwan.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3979x2652+0+0/resize/3979x2652!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F14%2F8d%2Fab6d3845479b8ce69718381d1353%2Fgettyimages-2243556711.jpg' alt='President Trump (L) and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands as they leave after their talks at the Gimhae Air Base, located next to the Gimhae International Airport in Busan on October 30, 2025.'/><p>On Thursday, the two leaders will hold meetings where Trump and Xi are expected to talk about artificial intelligence, rare earths, trade and geopolitics such as Iran and Taiwan.</p><p>(Image credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-144806' />