We're going to close this live page now and continue our coverage of the Trump-Xi summit in our US politics blog here.

As has just reported, tonight's state dinner in 's honour will not be televised because the White House has continued to deny full access to the event to CNN journalists on Thursday, despite a court order. Read more here.

Recapping some of the day's key newslines:

• Xi called for extensive cooperation with Washington to avoid the "Thucydides trap" that could put the US and China on a military collision course. He also said the Chinese and US economic and trade teams had reached a new joint agreement, which he called "good news for the global economy".

• Xi said Beijing ​hoped the ⁠US ⁠adhered ​to ‌the "correct" position of opposing "Taiwan ‌independence" and handles the Taiwan ‌question with prudence. On the US-Israeli war with Iran, he said China supported ‌the US and Tehran returning to a June memorandum of understanding ‌that was meant to ​end the war and ⁠reopen the strait of ​Hormuz.

• Trump said he ​and ⁠Xi had a "great meeting" after ⁠the two ​leaders ‌met ‌at the White ‌House. Here's a summary of the leaders' remarks before the talks. There was no sign of breakthroughs on contentious issues such as AI, trade, Taiwan or the Iran war.

• In ​remarks after Xi's arrival on Thursday, Trump emphasised his "truly great friendship" with the Chinese leader, rather than focusing on policy differences, and said the two ‌powers had made strides on trade since his trip to China in May. "Our teams have been working to encourage a more balanced trading relationship."

• Xi said the two countries' interests were deeply intertwined and that competition between them should be a "healthy one". US companies were welcome in China, he said, ‌while expressing hope Chinese companies were "treated fairly" in the US.

• The head of ⁠the Airlines for America industry group said US carriers opposed adding more direct flights from China to America, while Xi said it might happen.

As Donald and Melania Trump welcomed Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan for the black-tie state dinner, outside the White House gate a group of loud demonstrators shouted slogans like "China out ⁠of Hong Kong".

The protests were clearly audible to the US and Chinese leaders ⁠as they posed for pictures on the red-carpeted White House steps, Reuters is reporting.

During ​a bilateral discussion in the afternoon, Xi urged the US to oppose "Taiwan independence", according to a readout from the official Chinese news agency Xinhua shortly after it concluded. The White House did not immediately provide its own summary of the talks.

Xi had been expected to press Trump this week to halt arms sales to Taiwan. Following his visit to China in May, Trump said he was holding in ⁠abeyance an arms package to Taiwan worth some $14bn and called it a "very good negotiating chip".

As the start of the gala dinner approaches, US Senate Democrats have criticised Trump's summit with Xi, saying it prioritises pageantry over substance on issues such as artificial intelligence, trade, critical ⁠minerals and weapons ⁠for Taiwan.

The summit is heavy on diplomatic honours but has no ⁠indication that closed-door talks yielded breakthroughs on the issues dividing them.

In a statement signed by at least 19 ⁠of the 47 members of the Democratic caucus and reported by Reuters on Thursday, ​the Democrats called on Trump to ‌immediately deliver more ‌than $15bn in security assistance – $1.3bn in funds and a $14bn arms sale ‌package – that Congress has approved for Taiwan and to push for human rights and the release of wrongfully detained Americans.

Some of Trump's fellow Republicans also marked the summit by calling on Trump to release the funds for Taiwan.

The Democrats also criticised Trump's loosening of restrictions on ‌high-end chip sales to China, and said the extension of the US-China tariff truce did not sufficiently address ​supply chain issues such as China's hold on global rare earth refining.

Democrats are typically critical of Trump's policies, but their ​response to ​the summit gave an indication ​of how party members might address Beijing if they ​take control of ‌one or both ​houses of Congress ​in the coming midterm elections.

At tonight's swanky state dinner for Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan, everything from the tech-heavy guest list to the fashion choices of those on it, who sits where, their body language and what's on the menu will be closely scrutinised for clues about where things really stand between the Chinese leader and Donald Trump.

"Everyone wants to be there," the US president said during this week's UN general assembly. "It's the hottest ticket in town."

The dinner in the White House's East Room is expected to showcase "the positive vibes surrounding the visit" and indicate that "the president is very focused on signalling warmth and a close personal connection with Xi", says , senior adviser and chair in China studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

First lady 's menu features a first course of yellow squash velouté with wild mushrooms, fresh herbs, crispy pancetta and drizzled scallion oil, the Associated Press reports.

After that, guests will get sesame-crusted sea bass with braised baby bok choy, roasted garden eggplant and a sauce verte. Dessert is vanilla crémeux with sour cherry confit and walnut frangipane, as well as ice cream with honey from the White House.

The head of ⁠the Airlines for America industry group has said US carriers oppose adding more direct flights from China to America, even as Xi Jinping raised ⁠the idea.

, ​who heads the group representing American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and others, said US carriers continue to be hampered by the fact that ⁠Chinese counterparts are allowed to overfly Russia on eight flights. He had been advocating to Trump administration officials not to give in, he said on Thursday.

It's not just a minor ⁠thing. It's a huge cost to the airlines to have to go around Russia.

At an event in Washington on ‌Thursday, Xi raised the idea ‌of increasing flights, Reuters reports. The US and China currently can each operate about 50 round-trip flights a week.

Xi said:

Our ‌two sides may also increase direct flights to facilitate two-way travel and trade.

The White House did not immediately comment.

has two hours to kill until he hosts a state dinner in honor of China's president, , so naturally he used the break to renew his hostilities with two US news outlets he attempted to punish for reporting unflattering details about his presidency.

Writing on his social media platform, Trump complained that two of the three outlets he banned from the White House, CNN and MS Now, "refused to cover" his elaborate welcome of Xi to the White House on Thursday.

"The event was magnificent – Actually made for Television but, because they're Fake News, and because they knew how good it would be, they didn't want credit to be given to 'TRUMP,' they refused to be there," the president claimed.

What Trump failed to report to his followers on Truth Social was that the two broadcasters were not in position to cover the event live because his own actions and those of his aides.

Trump's aides initially failed to give journalists from those news organizations access to the White House on Thursday morning, despite a court order issued before dawn that their passes be restored. Their passes were taken away last week following Trump's decision to ban them, along with Politico.

Since CNN is also one of the five networks that provide pool video coverage of White House events to other broadcasters, in a rotation determined by the White House press office. The other networks refused to resume normal coverage until they were assured that the White House would restore CNN crews to the broadcast pool. The other networks – ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News – had refused to provide pool video of White House events in solidarity with CNN since Trump attempted to ban the cable news outlet from covering him in person last week.

"At the moment, the pool doesn't have that assurance, so it has not filmed any of Trump and Xi's events so far today," CNN's chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, reported before Trump, a former reality television star, posted his complaint.

According to China's Xinhua state news agency, has said that the Chinese and US economic and trade teams have reached a new joint agreement, which he called "good news for the global economy".

Xi and also ​exchanged views on the Middle East, Ukraine and ⁠the Korean ​Peninsula during ​the meeting, ​Xinhua reported.

We'll bring you more on this as we get it.

One is an authoritarian who represses the media with a strong allergy to democratic elections. The other is head of the Chinese Communist party.

welcomed the Chinese president, , to the White House on Thursday, setting the stage for a scene quite unlike anything the august old building has seen over more than two centuries.

And while Chinese state media had been welcomed onto the White House grounds, many US journalists had not, thanks to Trump's ban on CNN, MS Now and Politico. Michael McFaul, a former US diplomat, described the vivid contrast as "wrong and embarrassing".

That was hard to deny, given that China ranks 178th in Reporters Without Borders' press freedom index, ahead of only North Korea and Eritrea (the US, for the record, is down to 64th). But it also made perfect sense because, whereas past presidents sought to make China more like the US, Trump evidently aspires to make the US more like China.

The deference was deafening. On Wednesday night he and his wife, Melania, travelled to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to greet Xi off his plane – a schlep that US presidents rarely make for foreign leaders – and rolled out a literal red carpet for his strongman soulmate.

, the Democratic minority leader, observed on X: "If you're a foreign authoritarian, Trump won't just invite you to visit America, he'll roll out the red carpet for you…"

Vladimir, are you feeling jealous yet?

Xi is such a star that he got two welcomes. On Thursday morning, there were more flags, more trumpet blasts, and another red carpet as the Trumps emerged from the White House south portico to greet Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan.

Then it was on to the grand foyer for statements – , of course – before the two delegations, sitting in neat rows. Trump went first. You can tell when he's on his best behaviour because he (mostly) sticks to the teleprompter.

But it was Xi, speaking more substantially, who looked like he owned the place. Trump, sitting behind with hands clasped together, had the appearance of junior partner. Xi said he was ready to work with the president to "steer the giant ship of the China-US relationship on a steady course toward the future".

Then he got to the meat in the sandwich, insisting that the countries can "co-exist in peace" and their competition "should be a healthy one". "The Thucydides trap can be overcome," Xi declared, in a tacit acknowledgement that China is threatening to displace the US as the world's superpower.

But with more flattery, he added:

Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand.

None of this was covered by the usual cable news networks because they were boycotting shared coverage, in solidarity with the banned outlets.

Trump then sat down with the world's biggest jailer of journalists for bilateral talks. Perhaps he was seeking tips.

When they met face to face, was this a Reagan-Gorbachev style summit of great historical import, discussing guardrails on AI and other ways not to destroy the world? Maybe not.

By the afternoon, some of the banned reporters had been allowed back on to the White House campus after a judge found Trump's action to be unconstitutional. It must have been a tricky one to explain to Xi. He remains the master of repression; Trump is merely The Apprentice.

This is an edited extract. You can read the full US politics sketch here:

Amid the chaos of his attempts to ban journalists from CNN, Politico and MSNOW from the White House (they've since been allowed back in), quipped in the Oval Office that has the friendliest press corps.

According to a White House print pool report:

US and Chinese photographers were separated from the pool and brought in for two sprays with the president, according to two of the photographers who were present. During the second spray, Trump made a joke about how the Chinese had the friendliest press corps.

A reminder that China's media is one of the most heavily controlled and censored in the world. Chinese state media has been covering the summit.

US television networks boycotted Thursday's state visit in solidarity with colleagues from the three targeted media outlets, resulting in a blackout of sorts for what would otherwise be a high-stakes news story.

The stark irony of Trump's comments amid his attempts to restrict media access – not to mention his frequent attacks on the press – and the resulting blackout, also hasn't been lost on anyone.

Earlier, a group of demonstrators gathered outside the White House to protest against 's treatment of its minority in Xinjiang province.

China has arbitrarily detained more than one million people in so-called "re-education camps" that the government claims are benign vocational centres teaching useful career skills. Former detainees have described them as de facto prisons implementing mass brainwashing and obedience to the Communist party.

Over the last decade, more evidence has emerged of forced labour, torture, forced sterilisation of women and other methods of population reduction, and cultural erasure. Several governments (including the United States) and human rights bodies have condemned the situation as a genocide. In 2022, a damning UN report found that China had committed "serious human rights violations", which may amount to crimes against humanity.

One protestor, Aziz Sulayman from Virginia, told Reuters that his brother, a dentist called Alim Sulayman, was arrested 10 years ago.

I don't know his whereabouts. And he was sentenced, that's what I heard, for 17 years, without any, court, any, due process. He is innocent. He is a young Uyghur man. We want him to be free.

Another protestor, Haider Jan, said that "President Trump must confront Xi Jinping" over human rights abuses against the Uyghurs and other minorities in China.

Donald and Melania Trump will host in the East Room of the White House for a state dinner later tonight.

According to a release from the White House: "The menu showcases American ingredients with subtle Chinese influence, bringing the culinary traditions of both nations together. The meal begins with a toast of Schramsberg "Blanc De Noir," honoring the historic "Toast to Peace" shared by President Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing in 1972. The same American sparkling wine served at that historic gathering continues to be enjoyed at White House functions today."

Here's what's on the menu:

Yellow Squash Velouté
Wild Mushroom Fricassée
Crispy Pancetta
Scallion Oil

Sesame Crusted Sea Bass
Braised Baby Bok Choy
Roasted Garden Eggplant
Sauce Verte

Vanilla Crémeux & White House Honey Ice Cream
Walnut Frangipane
Sour Cherry Confit

For entertainment, there will be a performance from tenor Christopher Macchio, who performed at Trump's inauguration last year, along with performances by military musicians from the United States Marines Corps and the United States Army.

The décor will be "an expression of warmth and celebration and draws on the color red's longstanding cultural significance throughout Chinese history. Urns showcase overflowing red blossoms. Tables are dressed in rich red linens and adorned with dahlias and ranunculus. Among the seasonal blooms, the tables feature vermeil from the White House collection. The Reagan State Service is featured on the tables. ."

After leaving their husbands at the White House earlier, and toured one of the largest Asian art museums in the US, celebrating cultural ties between the US and China during a high-profile diplomatic visit to Washington.

The Associated Press reports that the first ladies visited the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in a display of soft power that united two figures known for fusing style and diplomacy. It was the first public meeting in nearly a decade between the spouses, one a former fashion model and the other a famed soprano.

They arrived to crowds gathered on sidewalks across from the museum, many waving Chinese and American flags.

Inside the museum, the first ladies toured the Peacock Room, a gilded green, blue and gold dining room that was once housed in a London mansion before opening to the public in Washington in 1923. The room was created by American artist James McNeill Whistler.

They also paused to look at a stone disk from ancient China, along with "Princess from the Land of Porcelain," an oil painting by Whistler hanging in the Peacock Room and featuring a kimono-clad woman standing and holding a fan. Later, youngsters from Hope Chinese School serenaded the women with renditions of famous Chinese folk songs, "Song and Smile" and "Jasmine Flower."

The subject of Taiwan came up during a bilateral meeting in which Xi Jinping urged the US to oppose "Taiwan independence," ⁠according to a readout from the official Chinese ⁠news agency Xinhua.

The White House ​did not immediately provide its own readout of the discussion.

Xi had been expected to press Trump this week to halt arms sales to Taiwan, the Associated Press reported. After visiting China in May, the US president said he was suspending an arms package to Taiwan worth about $14 billion and called it a "very good negotiating chip."

The move left some US allies in Asia ⁠and even some Republicans concerned that Trump may be tempted to soften Washington's support for Taipei in exchange for economic wins with China.

China has long asserted territorial ownership of Taiwan, a democratically governed island that relies on US power to counter Beijing's threats. Despite backing Taiwan, the US has traditionally avoided taking an official stance on its independence.