First Thing: Trump welcomes Xi to Washington amid tensions over trade, AI and Taiwan
State visit takes place at same time as UN general assembly, which Chinese leader has avoided. Plus, meet the people who are real-life Pokémon ‘professors’ Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here Good morning. Donald Trump has welcomed Xi Jinping to the US , greeting the Chinese leader on the asphalt at Joint Base Andrews at the start of his state visit. Xi’s trip coincides with the UN general assembly in New York, but he is not attending the gathering. The pageantry will continue with a formal welcome on the South Lawn of the White House, private tea with the US president and first lady, and a tour of the National Archives, among other special events. The White House also invited major tech leaders to a state dinner being held for Xi. What will the two leaders discuss ? Amy Hawkins notes in this explainer that topics are likely to include the development of AI technology, frosty trade relations and Taiwan. What developments have there been in US-China relations? The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, announced that the US and China agreed on Wednesday to extend the so-called Busan agreement, a temporary trade truce between the world’s two biggest economies. Who else has been invited to the US? The US has invited Vladimir Putin to take part in the G20 meeting scheduled to take place in Miami in December, in what would be the Russian leader’s first attendance at such a summit since he launched his invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said: “We hope that’s an invitation he’ll accept.” Why is Israel facing a water supply crisis? Israel is facing weeks of water shortages after an exceptional algae bloom crippled much of its desalination capacity , in a crisis scientists say was triggered when Israeli attacks destroyed much of Gaza’s wastewater infrastructure, causing a huge discharge of untreated sewage. Continue reading...