Xi visit to Washington all pomp but little progress so far

At least so far, Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington has been all pomp and little obvious progress on pressing issues.

The public remarks from the two leaders have teemed with warm words and diplomatic niceties. In a statement before today's formal meetings, Xi announced a gift of Chinese pandas and unveiled a new student exchange programme.

Trump, for his part, outlined some of the topics the leaders planned to discuss in their meetings, including "pressing issues concerning security, technology, and superintelligence" - using his preferred term for artificial intelligence.

Xi got Trump's red carpet welcome - but not everything he wantedPublished25 September

"The decisions we make in these areas today can promote peace and prosperity for decades and decades to come," he said.

"This is a little bit of intentional pageantry to talk up the positive vibes of the summit," Jennifer Welch, chief economic analyst for Bloomberg Economics, told the BBC. "This is very much how President Trump sees the summit and the role he plays in the US-China relationship, as ballast to provide stability."

In remarks at the White House, the Chinese leader again mentioned the "Thucydides trap" – a theory that shifts in global power tend to lead to conflict between rising and declining nations.

The obstacles in the way of reaching any substantive agreement between the two nations are significant, however. When Trump and Xi met in Beijing in May, the men agreed to form boards of trade and investment to oversee economic interactions, and little more.

The outlook for progress is much dimmer on other topics, like the US war with Iran, the Ukraine war and regulating AI.

When it comes to AI, China and the US have two very different goals for any agreement on the race to develop the technology, Robyn Klingler-Vida, a professor of political economy at Kings College London, told the BBC.

A number of leading American AI executives plan to attend tonight's formal state dinner at the White House, which many view as a means for the US side to tout its current technological advantage.

"What China talks about is metaphysical and abstract. The United States wants to solve specific problems," Miles Yu, who served as principal China policy planner and strategist to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during Trump's first term, told the BBC.