President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s full day in Washington has so far yielded few announcements, despite a host of thorny issues on the table.
Xi arrived at the White House Thursday morning for an Oval Office meeting with Trump, where the pair were expected to discuss everything from trade to counternarcotics to artificial intelligence.
But little has emerged since, including any details on a “bigger” trade deal between the countries.
As Trump showed Xi the new White House helipad, he stopped only to emphasize how much the Chinese leader “likes granite.” Xi, for his part, announced that two pandas will soon arrive in Atlanta.
Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, continued to caution against overt friendliness.
“If the president wants to buy President Xi a meal, I’m fine with that,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. “But … if you turn the other cheek with this guy, he’ll stab you right in the neck.”
Kennedy pointed to recent reporting on China’s relationship with Iran. Xi, he said, “could open up the Strait [of Hormuz] in a phone call.”
“He’s helping Iran every minute … and he’s telling us he’s not,” Kennedy said. “This guy learned to lie before he learned to talk … and you’ve got to understand that.”