DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:
China's president Xi Jinping is expected in Washington this week. He'll be meeting President Trump in the White House on Thursday, the first state visit by a Chinese leader in 11 years. The two men have plenty to discuss, including tariffs, artificial intelligence and the war in Iran. Joining us now is NPR White House correspondent Emily Feng. Thanks for being here.
EMILY FENG, BYLINE: Hi, Debbie.
ELLIOTT: Hi. Now, I know you've been reporting on all the preparations, but what is the significance of this being an official state visit, something that was only confirmed earlier this month?
FENG: Right. Well, state visits often are used to stabilize the U.S.-China relationship or even to break through some diplomatic impasse. For example, in 1997, then-Chinese leader Jiang Zemin came to Washington on a state visit to patch up relations with the U.S. after the Tiananmen massacre in Beijing in 1989. Going farther back in 1979, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping stopped by Texas after a state visit. He famously wore a cowboy hat. He went to a rodeo. And that marked a moment when China was opening up politically and economically to the U.S. and the rest of the world. And I would argue this time, this state visit is coming at a time that's just as momentous.
ELLIOTT: Momentous in what sense?
FENG: So Trump went to Beijing in the spring, and although there are substantial tech and security issues that remain contentious in the U.S.-China relationship, the two countries could really bake in a detente, you know, a period of diplomatic calm during Xi's trip to Washington. Two men, Xi Jinping and Trump, are meeting at a time of global uncertainty over the possible risks of artificial intelligence.
There's also the war in Iran, which the U.S. will raise since China has been, in the past, an economic lifeline to Iran by buying up so much Iranian oil. Also, Debbie, if you remember, the two countries are still technically in a trade war.
ELLIOTT: Right.
FENG: And so the timing of this visit is important for both men. For Trump, it's less than six weeks before the midterm. He's going to want optics showcasing economic wins for the U.S - for example, Chinese purchases, maybe, of American agricultural products. For China's leader, he goes home after Washington, and then he kicks off this yearlong political calendar that will culminate in the ruling Communist Party's party Congress next fall. That is where Xi is widely expected to declare he's going to lead the country for yet another five years, so he needs to project strength and stability in Washington for watchers back home.
ELLIOTT: Emily, I know you've been talking to a lot of folks about this. What are you hearing from observers about what to expect?
FENG: I have been interviewing current and former U.S. officials, and what they all say to me is, expect symbolism and pomp for both men, but don't expect a lot of detailed commitments. For China, the priority here is to keep the U.S. pacified without committing to anything. For the U.S., there's honestly been an overall lack of direction in the Trump administration's approach to China this term.
But Miles Yu pushed back on this. Yu advised on Asia policy in Trump's first term. He's a professor of military history at the U.S. Naval Academy. He argued to me that even though this term Trump has focused more on Iran and the Middle East and Venezuela, these issues are, in fact, related to countering China.
MILES YU: To put Americans' preeminence back domestically and hemispherically - to kick China out of Panama Canal and out of Venezuela and other places.
FENG: And despite this detente I just mentioned, it is obvious from my reporting that there is deep distrust in the U.S.-China relationship, still.
ELLIOTT: Can you talk a little bit more about the source of that mistrust and how that could possibly impact this meeting?
FENG: A good example of that is this rare earths truce that is also going to be discussed at this meeting. This truce involved China delaying by one year export controls that would have cut the U.S. off pretty much completely from rare earth products, which we need for electronic devices and cars and defense equipment. But my reporting shows the U.S. has privately accused China of abusing that truce by cutting off rare earths to Japan instead and also continuing to slow down export licenses for rare earth products. And China, which committed to buying 200 American Boeing planes during Trump's Beijing trip this spring - well, China has not been allowed to buy airplane spare parts, and that's a potential choke point the U.S. is quietly testing out on China.
ELLIOTT: That's NPR's Emily Feng. Thank you so much for your reporting on this.
FENG: Thanks, Debbie. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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