US President Donald Trump will host Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington this week, marking Xi's first state visit to the US in nearly a decade. The visit, which begins on Wednesday, will feature a range of high-level discussions, including trade, artificial intelligence, and Taiwan. According to the BBC, the trip is expected to include lavish dinners, private tours, and performances. Xi will be greeted personally by Trump at Andrews Air Force Base, followed by a White House welcoming ceremony featuring a military flyover and nearly 500 military personnel.
The visit comes at a critical time in US-China relations, with a US-China trade agreement reached last year set to expire in November. The trade truce, reached in October 2025, saw Washington suspend steep tariff increases on Chinese goods while Beijing eased back from restricting rare earth exports critical for manufacturing. Experts will be watching for some sort of announcement around an extension of this agreement during the upcoming state visit. David Sacks, a fellow for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, described the planned extravagant welcome by Trump as "really unprecedented".
Trade is expected to be a major topic of discussion between Trump and Xi, with the US president long criticizing his country's trade deficit with China, which stands at over $91 billion. Chinese rare earth exports to the US are down despite the agreement last October. US and Chinese officials held trade talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday but failed to make meaningful progress ahead of the Xi visit. The talks focused on finding areas of agreement around non-tariff trade issues and agricultural exports.
Artificial intelligence is another likely talking point between Trump and Xi, with China and the US competing in what has been described as an AI arms race. However, after a series of recent high-profile security incidents involving the emergent technology, there has been growing pressure on the Trump administration to regulate AI and slow its development. Senator Bernie Sanders has called for a treaty to pause AI and ban superintelligence, while Trump's former White House advisor Steve Bannon and some Republicans in Congress have also warned about the dangers posed by AI.
Taiwan will also be on the agenda, with the US Congress approving a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan that awaits Trump's signature. China has long vowed to "reunify" with self-governing Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force. Experts expect Xi to push Trump to either commit to extending the delay of the arms sale or somehow avoiding the sale altogether. The issue presents a potential political problem for Trump, with some members of his cabinet and supporters viewing China with deep suspicion.
Despite the clear hurdles that remain before any new US-China deals are inked, Trump views personal contact with Xi as vital to the process. "Trump has made a decision that no matter what, we need to not have a confrontational relationship with China," Stephen Orlins, president at the National Committee on US-China Relations, said. "He believes that the more he and President Xi meet, the less confrontational that relationship will be." US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng on Sunday, saying the two had "very successful" talks on trade and AI.
The visit is also an opportunity for Xi to discuss deepening US-China trade, with both leaders facing economic headwinds at home. However, experts say any major breakthroughs on AI or other issues are unlikely to occur during the many Trump-Xi meetings planned this week. The two leaders will have plenty of opportunities to discuss their differences, but it remains to be seen whether they can find common ground on the key issues.
Key points
- The US-China trade agreement reached last year is set to expire in November.
- The visit marks Xi's first state visit to the US in nearly a decade.
- Trade, AI, and Taiwan are expected to be major topics of discussion between Trump and Xi.
