President Donald Trump will host Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington this week. It will be the first state visit by China’s leader in more than a decade. The stakes are high across trade, technology and national security.
Xi’s plane is due at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday, and senior administration officials say Trump will be there to greet him. That is a notable break from routine, since Trump typically receives foreign leaders at the White House.
The centerpiece comes Thursday. Trump and first lady Melania Trump will welcome Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at an arrival ceremony on the State Floor. The two presidents will review troops in the Rose Garden before closed-door talks.
The first lady and Peng Liyuan will hold a separate engagement while their husbands meet.
Thursday also brings a state dinner in the East Room, with both leaders delivering remarks. The White House has shared part of the guest list, which includes Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser and Tim Cook, who recently stepped down as Apple’s CEO.
The visit returns a favor. Trump traveled to China in May, where Xi rolled out the red carpet. Xi’s last state visit to the United States came in September 2015, during the Obama administration.
Trade was the priority in Beijing. Trump said Xi agreed to order 200 Boeing jets during their talks there. Reuters reported that China also pledged to boost purchases of American agricultural products, but details on those transactions have yet to emerge. Delivering on those promises will be the test.
The groundwork was laid this weekend. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York ahead of the summit. Bessent called the meeting successful.
Artificial intelligence is now a central issue. Bessent said the sides discussed a U.S.-China AI Dialogue, with the United States proposing a notification mechanism for AI-related incidents. He also stressed that the United States remains the leader in AI. Any arrangement should reflect that lead and not trade it away.
Tariffs are on the table, though the scope looks modest. U.S. officials said Washington and Beijing may be ready to ease some tariffs on some nonstrategic goods, likely a narrow band that advantages both sides. The current tariff truce expires on Nov. 10, so an extension may also come up.
Rare earths may be the most important item. Beijing has used its near-monopoly on these minerals, essential to everything from smartphones to fighter jets, to bring the United States to the negotiating table. China promised to restore the flow of critical minerals, but a senior U.S. official said its performance has not been up to par. This dependence is a strategic vulnerability, and the case for rebuilding American mining and processing has rarely been clearer.
Trump’s approach blends warmth with hard bargaining. He has spoken highly of Xi, calling him a great leader and a strong man, despite tensions between the two countries. He said Friday he expects a very good meeting and that the two get along well.
The administration is not naive about Beijing’s conduct. The Trump administration has made allegations against China over election interference, involvement in aiding Iran, and exploiting birthright citizenship. Those disputes will hang over the pageantry.
Iran is a particular concern. China is Tehran’s biggest oil customer, and Xi appears in no rush to help Trump’s effort to pressure the country economically. If Beijing wants a warmer relationship, it can start by curbing that support.
Taiwan will also loom. Beijing is likely to remind Washington that Taiwan’s status is one of its few red-line issues. The United States is the island democracy’s biggest military and political supporter, and Trump should not give ground on that commitment.
Security worries are not going away. Fox News aired a segment in which a former White House official warned that China is expanding its spy capabilities near a U.S. base as Xi prepares to visit Washington. Pageantry should not lower anyone’s guard.
Xi chose to skip the United Nations General Assembly in New York and travel directly to Washington. That underscores how much Beijing values a direct relationship with President Trump.
