No hugs, ancient Greece and KFC: Five highlights from Trump-Xi talks

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?

Trump heaped praise on Xi as talks began at the cavernous Great Hall of the People, saying: “It’s an honour to be your friend.”

“You and I have known each other for a long time… We’ve had a fantastic relationship, we’ve gotten along when there were difficulties, we worked it out,” Trump told Xi.

“I would call you and you would call me.” Xi has in the past partially reciprocated Trump’s characterisation of their relationship, referring to a “personal friendship”.

But on Thursday the Chinese leader stopped short of using that label, saying instead that their two countries “should be partners, not rivals”.

Xi’s self-described “best friend” on the international stage is Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

And he is liberal with his use of the word, frequently hailing “friendships” with many countries, including North Korea, Pakistan and France.

Handshake, not hug

Posting on social media in mid-April, Trump predicted Xi would give him a “big, fat hug” upon his arrival in Beijing.

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.

The term refers to a tendency towards war when an ascending power threatens to displace an established one.

“Can China and the United States transcend the so-called ‘Thucydides Trap’ and forge a new paradigm for major-power relations?” Xi asked.

The answer to that question, Xi added, will have to be “jointly written” by the two leaders.

Meeting Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden in 2024, he said the Thucydides Trap “is not a historical inevitability”.

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.

Commenters were almost as excited by the presence of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla boss Elon Musk as part of the accompanying US business delegation, with a related Weibo hashtag reaching more than 52 million views.

Videos of Musk taking videos on his phone while standing on the steps of the Great Hall of the People also attracted attention.

“This scenery is unlike anything you’d see in America,” one user said.

“Looks like someone who’s never seen the world,” another posted.