Key Points
- Xi and Trump are scheduled to meet on September 24
- Trade and technology are expected to feature prominently in talks
- The summit comes amid wider US-China strategic competition
BEIJING/WASHINGTON: China President Xi Jinping will visit the United States from September 23 to 25 for talks with President Donald Trump, Beijing confirmed Monday.
The confirmation has set up a high-level summit focused on bilateral relations and major international issues.
China’s Foreign Ministry said Xi would make the state visit at Trump’s invitation.
Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the two leaders would “have an in-depth exchange of views on major issues concerning China-US relations and world peace and development”.
Beijing would “work with the US to enrich the substance of the relationship of constructive strategic stability between China and the US, strengthen dialogue and cooperation, (and) properly manage differences”, he added.
Washington had already made clear that the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies were due to meet this week, in what is expected to be a bid to ease tensions over trade, technology and broader strategic issues.
Trump will personally welcome Xi at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday before they meet the following day, a US official confirmed to AFP.
The US President Trump was welcomed by China’s vice president when he landed in Beijing for his state visit in May.
“I’ll be discussing almost everything with him,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
While both sides have maintained a tariff truce for nearly a year, they have yet to secure a lasting agreement.
The two presidents are scheduled to meet on September 24 and are expected to discuss trade, technology and other major issues in US-China relations.
The visit will be Xi’s first state visit to the United States since 2015 and his second face-to-face meeting with Trump this year.
Trade would remain a central issue in relations between the world’s two largest economies.
Washington and Beijing have maintained a tariff truce while negotiating arrangements covering tariffs, market access and other trade issues.
US-China preparatory talks
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held a preparatory meeting in New York ahead of the summit. The second-tier talks covered trade and artificial intelligence.
Technology is another major area of competition. The United States and China have imposed restrictions. The tit-for-tat trade barriers have affected advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence and other strategic technologies, while both sides have sought dialogue to manage differences.
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The summit is taking place against a broader backdrop of geopolitical tensions, including the war involving Iran and disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
The leaders’ meeting follows a September 17 telephone conversation between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which the two sides discussed high-level exchanges and the Middle East situation.
The United States and China are the world’s two largest economies and remain major trading partners. Their relationship is also defined by competition over technology, trade, security and influence in the Indo-Pacific.
