US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) defended his decision to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House, asserting that the United States now makes 'a lot of money' from its relationship with China — a sharp reversal from what he described as years of losses. Speaking at a midterm election rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, Trump also announced he was rebranding artificial intelligence as 'superintelligence', arguing that the US was leading China and all other rivals in the field.

Trump on Xi's Visit: 'He Doesn't Fly 21 Hours Unless He Respects You'

Responding to critics who questioned why he had invited the Chinese leader, Trump framed the visit as a reflection of mutual respect and productive personal chemistry. 'We had the — the President of China last week. And people said, Why are you doing that? I'm doing that because we get along. It's nice,' Trump said.

He pointed to the length of Xi's journey as a symbolic indicator of the bilateral relationship. 'He doesn't fly in an aeroplane for 21 hours unless he respects the President of a country or the country itself. And we had a great — a very great meeting,' he said. Trump did not provide details of what was agreed during the meeting, nor did he cite specific figures to support his claim that the US now profits from its trade with China.

Trade Reversal Claim Goes Unverified

Trump's assertion that the US 'used to lose a lot of money with China' but now 'makes a lot of money' marks a significant rhetorical shift — though he offered no supporting data at the rally. 'We're doing great with China. We make a lot of money with China… And China respects us too,' he said. The claim notably comes against a backdrop of ongoing trade tensions, tariff regimes, and a US trade deficit with China that has historically remained among the largest in the world, according to publicly available trade data. No official figures were cited by Trump to substantiate the claim.

AI Rebranded as 'Superintelligence'

Turning to technology, Trump declared that the US was ahead of all global competitors, including China, in artificial intelligence — and announced a personal rebrand of the term. 'We're leading the world. We're leading China. We're leading everybody with what they called artificial intelligence. But I said, it's not artificial; it's really super. It's superintelligence. Sometimes it may get too super; that's what we have to watch,' he said.

Trump added that he had hosted leading technology executives at the White House, including at a dinner alongside President Xi. 'I had them to the White House. I had them to dinner with President Xi. He knew every one of them and what they did,' Trump said, without naming the executives. He said the tech leaders agreed with his preferred terminology: 'They agree with me, it's really superintelligence, so we're going with that term.'

$5,000 Payment Pitch and the China Comparison

In the same speech, Trump promoted his proposed $5,000 payment to Americans, contingent on Republicans retaining control of Congress in the 3 November elections. He added a pointed condition: the money would have to be spent within the United States. 'You can't say… darling, let's take a little trip to China so we can spend the five grand,' he said. The remark drew laughter from the crowd and reinforced Trump's framing of China as both an economic competitor and a rhetorical foil throughout the evening.

The rally remarks are likely to draw scrutiny from trade analysts and foreign policy observers, with both the substance of the Xi meeting and the 'superintelligence' rebrand set to dominate headlines ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.