Trump-Xi summit puts AI, trade, rare earths at centre of new US-China contest
On the eve of the September 24 meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, representatives of both sides sat down for a closed-door "technical" session. On the American side were Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and on the Chinese side, Vice Premier of the State Council He Lifeng. Their goal was to find common ground on the issues that matter most, namely the trade imbalance, artificial intelligence, and rare earth elements and critical minerals. And while this meeting carries obvious weight for the two countries themselves, given the geopolitical stature of those at the table and the sharp rhetoric of the ongoing trade wars, its consequences reach far beyond Washington and Beijing. The rest of the world has a stake in how this plays out.