Trump and Xi summit may just be a'horse and pony show', experts say Share Trump and Xi summit may just be a'horse and pony show', experts say on social media As United States President Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping with a rare personal welcome at the airport, to be followed by a state banquet and a military flyover, experts warn to temper expectations as the summit is more focused on "re-establishing trust" rather than having any meaningful deals announced at the end of it. The US and China have been locked in a trade war since Trump's first term as president when he introduced levies on imports of certain industrial goods, and Beijing retaliated with tariffs on a range of US exports including soya beans, pork and electric vehicles. Some of those policies continued under Trump's successor, President Joe Biden, who also introduced other measures, including curbs on chip exports. While both sides have since stepped back from that cliff after the two leaders met in late October in Busan on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea, US tariffs are still at a hefty average of 36.5 percent, while China's tariffs on US goods average out to 31 percent. "This is not a bargaining summit," Reza Hasmath, academic faculty adviser at The China Institute at the University of Alberta, told Al Jazeera.

Top economic officials from China and the United States have begun talks in New York City aimed at clearing the way for possible agreements on trade, artificial intelligence and critical minerals ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng began talks at JPMorgan Chase's Manhattan headquarters on Sunday morning, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also taking part. "I'm looking forward to having focused, fulsome and constructive talks today that will set the stage for our leaders' meeting," Bessent told reporters as he arrived. At the top of the agenda is a fragile US-China trade truce due to expire on November 10. The agreement, reached in Busan, South Korea, last November, capped US tariffs on Chinese goods at about 20 percent after a tit-for-tat trade fight briefly pushed tariffs into the triple digits.

U.S. to tell partners they must pick sides in AI race with China People march as they protest against Pax Silica, a U.S.-led initiative, in Manila on Thursday. WASHINGTON - The U.S. is preparing to tell dozens of countries they must pick sides in the artificial intelligence race with China, warning they will be excluded from a U.S.-led AI coalition if they also sign up for Beijing's competing framework, according to a U.S. official and an internal draft reviewed by reporters. Washington last year launched the Pax Silica initiative aimed at securing supply chains for AI models, semiconductors and critical minerals, amid a fierce technology rivalry with Beijing. About two dozen countries have joined, including Kazakhstan, a key potential source of critical minerals that has also joined China's coalition, as well as close U.S. allies such as Japan, Australia and South Korea. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

U.S. moves to deepen minerals supply chain in AI race with China The U.S. is looking to cut its dependence on China. The U.S. will seek agreements with eight allied nations as part of a fresh effort to strengthen supply chains for the computer chips and critical minerals needed for artificial intelligence technology, according to the top State Department official for economic affairs. The initiative, which builds on efforts dating back to the first administration of President Donald Trump, unfolds as the U.S. looks to cut its dependence on China. It will begin with a meeting at the White House on Dec. 12 between the U.S. and counterparts from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the U.K., Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Australia, Jacob Helberg, the undersecretary of state for economic affairs, said in an interview. Helberg, a former adviser at Palantir Technologies, said the summit will focus on reaching agreements across the areas of energy, critical minerals, advanced manufacturing semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and transportation logistics.

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency are set to announce a bevy of new actions Tuesday afternoon that will "unleash" coal energy following President Donald Trump's expected signature on an executive order reinvigorating "America's beautiful clean coal industry," Fox News Digital learned. "The American people need more energy, and the Department of Energy is helping to meet this demand by unleashing supply of affordable, reliable, secure energy sources -- including coal," Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a Tuesday statement provided to Fox News Digital. "Coal is essential for generating 24/7 electricity generation that powers American homes and businesses, but misguided policies from previous administrations have stifled this critical American industry," he said. "With President Trump's leadership, we are cutting the red tape and bringing back common sense." Trump is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday afternoon that will cut through red tape surrounding the coal industry, including directing the National Energy Dominance Council to designate coal as a "mineral," end a current pause to coal leasing on federal lands, promote coal and coal technology exports, and encourage the use of coal to power artificial intelligence initiatives, Fox News Digital learned of the upcoming executive order.

The energy transition requires critical minerals. Though the U.S. has plentiful resources of its own, the country has largely relied on foreign sources. That's in part because one major roadblock to accessing American critical mineral deposits is that they remain largely unmapped. That may be about to change, though. The Department of Defense and the U.S. Geological Survey have issued two separate challenges to explore using artificial intelligence and machine learning to expedite USGS' task of assessing the availability and mining potential of 50 critical minerals.