Trump, Xi expected to talk Taiwan, AI, trade and Iran as DC summit kicks off

President Donald Trump and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the White House on Thursday for high-stakes talks about trade, artificial intelligence and the Iran war — in between displays of military fanfare and a lavish banquet.While China analysts broadly predict the leaders' personal relationship and policy goals will result in a cautious summit that yields few major deliverables, their latest face-to-face nevertheless carries real geopolitical risk.That significance was on display the moment Xi arrived Wednesday evening at Maryland's Joint Base Andrews, where he was greeted on the tarmac by Trump — who met him at the airplane stairs after walking down a red carpet that U.S. service members had rolled out.It was Trump's first time traveling to the base to welcome a foreign leader, a source familiar confirmed to CNBC on condition of anonymity to discuss the president's plans for the summit. The last president to make the gesture was Barack Obama, who greeted then-Pope Francis on the Andrews tarmac 11 years years ago this week.On Thursday morning, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are set to welcome Xi and Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan at the White House for an "a...