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Chinese president Xi Jinping burst into laughter after Donald Trump showed him a mocking 'portrait' of Joe Biden.
President Xi landed in Washington DC on Thursday for talks between the two superpowers.
Trump hailed his 'great friendship' with Xi and pulled out all the stops to woo the Chinese leader, greeting him on the runway on his arrival, offering him a rare tour of the presidential helicopter, and giving him a bald eagle statue.
asserted
Trump → see → statue
He also took the Chinese leader to the Presidential Walk of Fame, a gallery of presidential portraits of almost all former US presidents.
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He → take → presidents
The one notable exception is Joe Biden, who Trump replaced with a photograph of an autopen – a reference to Biden's use of the technology to sign legislation.
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Trump → replace → legislation
In a video posted by the White House, Trump was seen walking Xi through the portraits.
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Trump → post → portraits
After pointing at himself, he says to Xi: 'And this is the autopen... it's Biden.'
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it → point → Xi
Xi let out a hearty laugh as one of his aides appeared to translate Trump's sentence into Mandarin.
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one → let → Mandarin
In a video posted by the White House, Trump was seen walking Xi through the portraits
Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan, Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump pose on the North Portico ahead of a state dinner at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, September 24 2026
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Liyuan → post → Washington
The autopen is a device used to replicate a person's signature with precision, typically for high-volume or ceremonial documents.
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autopen → use → documents
It has been employed by presidents of both major parties to sign letters and proclamations.
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It → employ → letters
Trump and his supporters have made a variety of unfounded claims that Biden's use of the device while president invalidated his actions or suggested that he was not fully aware of these actions.
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he → make → actions
Trump, known for his provocative style and dislike for his political opponents, repeatedly targeted Biden's use of the autopen to sign official documents during his presidency.
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Trump → know → presidency
Before he left office in January 2025, the Democrat president used the technology to issue several pardons, including for family members, who he wanted to protect from politically motivated investigations.
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he → leave → investigations
Biden also commuted criminal sentences, including for non-violent drug offenders.
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Biden → commute → offenders
Trump took umbrage with this, announcing in December 2025 that he was terminating all documents, including pardons, that he said his predecessor signed using an autopen.
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predecessor → take → autopen
He wrote at the time: 'Any and all Documents, Proclamations, Executive Orders, Memorandums, or Contracts, signed by Order of the now infamous and unauthorized ''AUTOPEN',' within the Administration of Joseph R. Biden Jr., are hereby null, void, and of no further force or effect.
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Documents → write → force
'
'Anyone receiving 'Pardons,' 'Commutations', or any other Legal Document so signed, please be advised that said Document has been fully and completely terminated, and is of no Legal effect,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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Trump → receive → Social
It comes as US and Chinese officials sit down for significant talks, which so far seem to have resulted in few diplomatic breakthroughs.
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which → come → breakthroughs
Those meetings yielded 'many new consensuses', according to Xi – but the only concrete deals announced were a promise to invite 100,000 young Americans to China for exchanges, and lending two pandas to a zoo in Atlanta.
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deals → yield → Atlanta
Xi let out a hearty laugh as one of his aides appeared to translate Trump's sentence into Mandarin
China's President Xi Jinping (L) and US President Donald Trump speak through interpreters as First Lady Melania Trump listens to Tesla CEO Elon Musk during a State Dinner in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 24, 2026
Xi once again urged the two sides to avoid the 'Thucydides Trap' – the theory that a rising power will come into conflict with an established one – but there was little sign of progress on thorny issues like Taiwan or artificial intelligence.
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power → let → Taiwan
Trump and Xi hinted at big differences on their approach to the regulation of Artificial Intelligence – or 'super intelligence', as Trump referred to it.
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Trump → hint → it
While Trump has dismissed calls from tech leaders for regulations to 'pace the frontier' of the technology, Xi said AI should 'always be under human control'.
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AI → dismiss → control
'There is some broad general agreement on the risks presented by AI, but they diverge on how to manage this,' according to Dylan Loh of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.
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they → be → University
'Deep suspicions and intensifying competition' on AI mean breakthroughs on governing the technology are unlikely, Mr Loh said.
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Loh → intensify → technology
One significant deal was the extension by two months of the countries' fragile trade truce – due to expire in November.
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deal → expire → November
The detente paused a bruising trade war last year by reducing US tariffs on Chinese goods and removing Beijing's export controls on rare earths vital to manufacturing.
'
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detente → pause → manufacturing
I think the Chinese would have hoped for a longer extension, but they are also realistic,' said Mr Loh.
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Loh → think → extension
The truce would provide 'some calm on the trade front,' he said.
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he → provide → front
US President Donald Trump holds a binder as he stands next to Chinese President Xi Jinping before Xi delivers a speech during a state dinner at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, September 24, 2026
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet China's President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan on the South Portico of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington
Xi Jinping (2nd-L) and first lady of China Peng Liyuan (L) greet U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump (R) during an arrival ceremony at the White House on September 24, 2026 in Washington, DC
Trump is 'trying to stabilise relations for now until the US can basically decrease its vulnerabilities to Beijing', according to Jared Mondschein, Director of Research at the United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney.
Trump, a self-styled deal maker, has repeatedly called on China to purchase more US goods to establish a more 'balanced' economic relationship.
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Trump → hold → relationship
However, Xi's visit hasn't yet produced any commitments for Chinese purchases of, for example, Boeing planes or American farm produce.
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visit → produce → planes
Trump has repeatedly called on China to help extricate the US from its conflict with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz for shipping, calls Beijing has rebuffed.
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Beijing → call → calls
China has also been accused of helping Iran target US military assets in the Middle East.
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Iran → accuse → East
On Thursday, Xi told the US president to end the war and come to a negotiated settlement with Tehran as soon as possible, according to a Chinese readout of the talks.
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Xi → tell → talks
'The idea that China is going to be a big power broker, appear publicly and negotiate solutions - I think that's really unlikely,' said Rana Mitter, professor of US-Asia relations at the Harvard Kennedy School.
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Mitter → go → School
'I don't think that China is going to be the magic card that gets the US out of trouble in the region.'
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that → think → region
Xi repeated his warning, given to Trump in May, that he should show 'prudence' over Taiwan.
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he → repeat → Taiwan
But he also went further than he had in that meeting by urging the US to explicitly oppose Taiwan independence.
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he → go → independence
The island, which China claims and has vowed to bring under its control, relies on the US for its defence.
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China → claim → defence
A $14billion US arms package for Taiwan has been put on hold and is 'under review', US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday.
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Rubio → put → State
In May, Trump suggested the sales could be used as a bargaining chip with China, raising fears Taiwan's security could be traded away.
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security → suggest → fears
Trump 'has been willing to talk about the levels of arms sales in a way that previous administrations haven't', said Harvard's Mitter.
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Mitter → talk → way
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
