Finland

Helsinki, Friday, September 25, 2026. The Finnish press views the meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping less as a trade summit than as a meeting of the two powers of artificial intelligence. Helsingin Sanomat headlines "the meeting of the AI superpowers", noting that Trump announced on Truth Social that artificial intelligence would be a central topic of discussion, while Xi called, at the opening of the talks, to keep the development of AI "under human control": "We have both the ability and the responsibility to develop and master artificial intelligence so that it serves the good", he said. Trump had previously summarized his doctrine with a phrase taken up by the newspaper: whoever wins the AI race wins.

The protocol pomp does not escape the Finnish media: Trump personally welcomed Xi to Andrews Base on Wednesday evening, an unusual gesture according to YLE, complemented on Thursday by a military parade and the flyover of fighter jets and then two B-1 Lancer bombers, the noise of which visibly surprised Trump himself while Xi remained impassive, reports MTV Uutiset. At the state dinner on Thursday evening, the guest list, including Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, and Mark Zuckerberg, confirms according to YLE that trade and AI dominated the agenda.

In substance, few concrete results: the customs truce, which was to end on November 10, has been extended until January 10, announced Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Xi demanded that Washington oppose the independence of Taiwan and repeated the Chinese position on "reunification"; protesters gathered in front of the White House called for support for Taiwan, Tibet, and Hong Kong. Xi also pleaded for avoiding any military collision between the two powers.

Senior economist at the Bank of Finland Juuso Kaaresvirta nuances the balance of power: the US GDP still far exceeds that of China, but Beijing maintains its lead in green technologies, batteries, electric vehicles, and critical minerals, driven by long-term planning that erratic American politics cannot match. Analyst Risto Penttilä notes on MTV that the two countries account for 45% of the global economy, military spending, and emissions: it is better that they come to an understanding than clash, but nothing concrete is expected beyond the extended truce.