DOMINANT ANGLE
Moscow sees in the protocolar fanfare deployed in Washington a diplomatic ritual rich in symbols — red carpet, military flyovers, state dinner — but poor in concrete agreements, with expectations of a breakthrough remaining, according to local press, "modest".
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The state dinner brought together over 130 guests, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Jensen Huang, and Tim Cook, while Dario Amodei (Anthropic) and Peter Thiel — held up in Berlin for an award — were absent (RT).
- 02
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the extension of the Sino-American trade truce until January 10, without a new agreement on chips or rare earths (RT, Sputnik).
- 03
Xi Jinping asked the US to "exercise caution" on the Taiwan issue and called for "peaceful coexistence" between the two countries (TASS).
ANALYSIS
Moscow, September 25, 2026. The Russian press devoted most of its coverage of Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States to the protocolary pomp displayed in Washington, rather than the substantive issues. On Wednesday evening, the Chinese leader's plane landed at 17:39 local time - 0:39 Thursday in Moscow - and Donald Trump personally welcomed him at the foot of the ramp, with a red carpet rolled out and military personnel in ceremonial attire lined up, reports TASS. The next day, a 30-meter red carpet, a guard of honor, and the flyover of two B-1 bombers marked the arrival at the White House, before a B-2 stealth bomber and fighter jets flew over the ceremony while the two leaders watched the Marine Corps honor guard, according to Sputnik.
The state dinner brought together over 130 guests, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Jensen Huang, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Tim Cook, and Lisa Su, notes RT - while Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Peter Thiel, who was held up in Berlin for an award, were absent. The menu combined pumpkin velouté, Chinese-style crispy bar, and honey from the White House beehives; Trump presented Xi with an eagle sculpture, hoping it would find "a wonderful place" in Beijing.
On substance, Xi mentioned a "frank and in-depth exchange" that led to "new agreements" and a "new historic stage", calling for an unprecedented approach between major powers and recalling Sino-American cooperation against Japan during World War II. He also asked Washington to "exercise caution" on Taiwan and advocated for "peaceful coexistence". Trump, for his part, deemed the meeting "formidable", noting that Xi "loves good granite stone".
On artificial intelligence, which Trump refers to as "superintelligence", the two leaders agreed that competition should remain a "race" rather than a confrontation, according to Xi. Sputnik notes, however, that expectations of a breakthrough remained "modest": Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent only announced the extension of the trade truce until January 10, without a new agreement on chips, rare earths, or Taiwan.
SOURCES (3)
- SputnikMEDIUM
