PRC Chairman Xi Jinping is making a state visit to the US from September 23 to 25, 2026, at the invitation of President Donald Trump. This is the third personal meeting between the two leaders during Trump's second term, but Xi's first official state visit to Washington after a break of more than ten years – the last such visit took place in September 2015 under the administration of Barack Obama.
The visit is marked by rare protocol gestures. Trump will personally receive the Chinese guest at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, right at the foot of the plane – a step unusual in American diplomatic practice. As a rule, foreign leaders are received at the White House itself, or at the airbase they are directed to the presidential residence. Such a high level of honor underscores the importance of the meeting for both sides.
Key negotiations are scheduled for September 24. The leaders will discuss bilateral relations, global issues of peace and development, as well as the critically important trade truce, which expires on November 10, 2026. The agenda includes rare earth element supplies, tariff policy, and artificial intelligence development.
The visit program includes a state ceremony on the White House lawn, bilateral meetings, and a state dinner in the East Room of the presidential residence. The meeting takes place against the backdrop of an unstable trade situation: in 2025, the US and China exchanged high tariffs, but in May 2026, they agreed to restore the truce, reducing tariffs from 145% to 30% on the American side and from 125% to 10% on the Chinese side.
Preparatory meetings of high-level delegations have already taken place: US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng discussed the terms for extending the agreement, but have not yet reached full consensus, especially on the issue of rare earth metal supplies.
The meeting will be the second in six months – in May of this year, Trump visited Beijing, where Xi called him his "friend." Following the summit, experts expect that the main focus will be on extending the trade truce until the end of Trump's presidential term, rather than the six-month extension proposed by Washington.
In addition to the September summit, the leaders plan to meet twice more: in November at the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, and in December at the G20 summit in Miami. The intensity of contacts reflects the desire of both sides to prevent a new round of trade conflicts and strengthen communication channels amid deep strategic contradictions.
