Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump met in Beijing on Thursday for high-stakes talks, discussing the Iran war, Ukraine and economic cooperation.
Away from the long list of complex agenda topics, here are five other highlights from day one of the summit:
One-sided friendship?
The comment was typical of Trump’s often bombastic, freewheeling comportment on the international stage — a dramatic contrast to Xi’s measured, tight-lipped presence.
Come Thursday morning, Trump was offered a firm handshake instead of the warm embrace he had hoped for.
The handshake lasted more than 10 seconds, with the American leader patting Xi on his arm a couple of times.
Thucydides Trap
In his speeches and meetings with foreign leaders, Xi often references classical maxims or poems from ancient China.
On Thursday, however, Xi chose to compare the US-China relationship to the “Thucydides Trap”, a political term coined by an American scholar based on an account of the Peloponnesian war by ancient Greek historian Thucydides.
Reporter scuffles
Tensions rose on the sidelines between travelling US media outlets and Chinese security personnel and officials.
Reporters scrambled for shots at the Great Hall as Trump and Xi prepared to sit down, with one expletive-laden exclamation caught on tape.
Chinese security personnel can be heard in the background telling reporters to move back.
Later, as the leaders visited the historic Temple of Heaven, US press had their entry delayed for nearly half an hour after Chinese security initially refused to allow a Secret Service agent to enter with his weapon.
US staff and reporters were then prevented by Chinese officials from leaving and joining the motorcade, before they were eventually allowed out.
In footage of the scene, an American can be heard telling Chinese staff: “You guys have been terrible hosts.”
Memes galore
Chinese social media erupted with humorous posts marking the visit.
Many joked Trump could enjoy “Crazy Thursday” — a viral campaign in China by fast-food chain KFC entailing food discounts every Thursday — with some using AI to generate memes of him enjoying fried chicken.
Hashtags related to the trip trended throughout the day, with one relating to the Temple of Heaven visit garnering more than 98 million views on social media platform Weibo as of Thursday afternoon.
Some comments expressed hope that Trump would “have fun” during his time in China, while others jokingly blamed the sweltering Beijing weather on him.
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