BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Wednesday for a state visit to the United States at the invitation of US President Donald Trump, state media said.
Xi was accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and foreign minister Wang Yi, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Wednesday for a state visit to the United States at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump. #XinhuaNews pic.twitter.com/idWwgIs8D9
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) September 23, 2026
President Trump will personally receive Xi on his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, before their meetings on Thursday, according to the White House.
The US leader was greeted by China’s vice president when he landed in Beijing for his state visit in May.
Xi and Peng will attend a ceremony at the White House on Thursday morning, which will include a military flyover.
The two leaders are due to hold talks and Trump is set to host Xi for a state dinner at the White House in the evening.
The visit will wrap up on Friday morning where the two presidential couples will have tea at the White House then visit the National Archives to round out the trip.
The White House said that the visit marks “a significant milestone in the relationship between the two countries.”
But the meeting between the two leaders could touch on multiple points of tension, with Trump telling reporters that he will be “discussing almost everything” with Xi.
A trade war is of greater concern and the world’s two largest economies are still seeking to mitigate the fallout from Trump’s global tariffs.
Preliminary talks between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng discussed creating a communication channel for AI concerns.
Bessant said at the time that the two sides discussed setting up a way to communicate about AI issues called the “US-China AI dialogue.”
“The US has proposed that we have a notification mechanism between the two countries,” Bessent said.
