South Africa

Pretoria, September 25, 2026. The South African economic press first notes what is missing from the Washington summit. Donald Trump hailed a "very great friendship" forged with Xi Jinping since 2016, stating that the two countries "have never gotten along better", while the Chinese president called for "healthy" and "limited" competition rather than "a struggle where one wins and the other loses". But behind the pomp - state dinner, eagle statue offered to Xi, two pandas promised to the Atlanta zoo according to the briefing - Business Day and TimesLIVE note that no lasting agreement was signed: on Wednesday, the two delegations merely extended a two-month tariff truce that was set to expire on November 10, postponing a compromise on trade to a later date.

The most sensitive files remain, however, intact. Beijing continues to buy Iranian oil despite American pressure to isolate Tehran, while Xi demands a definitive end to arms sales to Taiwan and the easing of American restrictions on high-end semiconductors. On artificial intelligence, Moneyweb notes a clear divergence: Trump wants to keep AI "exactly where it is", without new rules, while Xi asserts that China has "the capacity and responsibility" to develop AI "always under human control" - the first time the two leaders have jointly addressed the existential risks cited by Silicon Valley.

Daily Maverick sums up the summit with its title: Trump welcomes Xi "with pomp, but without progress". The newspaper reports protesters chanting "China out of Hong Kong" at the gates of the White House, audible during the protocol photo session, and a formal dinner bringing together Tim Cook, Jensen Huang, and other tech bosses. Xi mentioned a "common understanding" on "many subjects" without elaborating, calling on the two countries to act as "responsible great powers".

SABC News emphasizes that the meeting, the third between the two men in a year, takes place as the war in Iran weighs on energy prices and Trump's popularity ahead of the November midterm elections. For the South African press, the diplomatic staging masks an economic status quo: the truce holds, but nothing is settled on rare earths, chips, or Taiwan - a delay, not an agreement.