Chinese leader Xi Jinping is scheduled to hold a long-awaited bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday. Aiming to ease trade friction We then discuss increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
On Wednesday night, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed Mr. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland with an unusual red carpet. In the past 60 years, no U.S. president has personally welcomed visitors to the base.
Earlier, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that Xi and Peng were accompanied by Tsai Qi, the president’s closest aide and adviser, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The White House said the meeting scheduled for Thursday would be a “significant milestone in the bilateral relationship.”
But Xi’s first state visit in more than a decade is likely to touch on multiple points of tension, including the war with Iran, the fallout from Trump’s tariffs, and the threat of war over the island of Taiwan, which China claims as territory.
What is XI’s schedule in Washington?
President Trump met with Mr. Xi upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews. But the main event will be Thursday morning, when Xi will receive a ceremonial welcome at the White House, accompanied by a military flyover and nearly 500 military personnel.
After the two leaders meet during the day, President Trump is scheduled to host a state dinner for President Xi at the White House. The event is expected to include heads of important companies in both markets, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
The visit concludes Friday morning, with the president and first lady scheduled to have tea at the White House before finishing their trip with a visit to the National Archives.
Instead of a joint press conference or final statement, each country is expected to make separate announcements highlighting what it wants to convey to its domestic audience.
What is the topic of the meeting?
Ahead of Thursday’s plenary session, both countries are already tipping over an impending cliff. The current 11-month trade ceasefire was due to expire in November, but has been extended until January 10, giving negotiating teams time to finalize a broader deal.
The war between the United States and Israel against Iran is also likely to feature heavily in the discussion. Beijing maintains close ties with Tehran, but it is unclear whether talks with Xi will help Trump break the impasse in the conflict. Observers say the United States may be hoping China can exert influence over Tehran, but President Trump has so far insisted there is no need to ask China for help.
The two countries are likely to further discuss the race to develop AI, as they are fiercely competitive but also mindful of the growing risks. The United States and China have proposed a new “notification mechanism” to mutually alert each other to AI incidents serious enough to threaten national security.
China is also expected to raise the Taiwan issue. The Trump administration approved a record $11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan in December, but a second round worth about $14 billion has been on hold for months. President Trump described arms sales as a “very good bargaining chip.”
President Trump is also expected to seek the release of some Americans imprisoned in China, among others, after securing the July release of Chinese pastor Ezra Jin, who is imprisoned as part of China’s 2025 crackdown on underground churches. Trump raised the pastor’s issue with Xi in May.
What is the relationship between Trump and Xi?
Trump’s decision to personally greet Xi upon his arrival shows how far the US president intends to respect the Chinese leader, observers say. Melania Trump said in a television interview that she decided to greet President Xi because her husband and her husband have a “great relationship.”
“He is coming to our land, and we need to welcome him with the utmost respect,” she said of Mr. Xi and his wife in an interview with Fox News.
However, despite the conciliatory tone, relations between the two leaders have been strained by the trade war that began shortly after President Trump returned to office for a second term in January 2025.
Citing concerns about fentanyl and immigration, the U.S. president imposed 10% tariffs on Chinese goods, but China responded by imposing taxes on U.S.-produced coal, liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil and automobiles, and restricting exports of five rare earth metals essential to manufacturing defense equipment and clean energy.
Attitudes on both sides rapidly escalated, with tariffs reaching triple digits and the Chinese government warning its citizens against traveling to the United States. China also threatened to impose export restrictions on seven more rare earth metals late last year.
The plan was put on hold when Trump and Xi agreed to a trade cease-fire after meeting in South Korea in October 2025. During the US president’s visit to China in May, the two countries announced plans to create a trade and investment commission, while Mr Xi agreed to buy Boeing planes and US agricultural products.
But President Trump later imposed new 12.5% tariffs on products from China, citing what he said were 60 trading partners including China’s failure to curb forced labor imports.
Why is this summit important?
Thursday’s meeting at the White House was the third face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in less than a year, amid what was described as a cessation of hostilities.
Both sides continue to test each other while avoiding escalation. During President Trump’s state visit, the two countries agreed to a diplomatic framework for “constructive China-US relations of strategic stability,” often referred to as “constructive strategic stability.”
This meeting will be a further test of whether such a stance can be maintained given the competing interests of both sides.
This rebalancing could lead to agreements such as lower tariffs in certain areas, cooperation on drug trafficking, and greater dialogue between the militaries.
It also has the potential to set a course for the steady and long-term development of bilateral relations and confirm that cooperation will be a pillar.
