21/09/26
By AfterPost ---US-China
Date: 21/09/26 — 09:07 AM (Beijing)
By AfterPost — US-China
Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to the United States from Sept. 23 to 25 at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced on Monday, in what Beijing called a visit of "historic, milestone significance."
The Announcement
"Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to the US from September 23 to 25 at the invitation of President Donald Trump," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in a statement Monday morning.
During the visit, Xi "will hold in-depth exchanges of views with President Trump on major issues concerning China-US relations, as well as world peace and development."
Spokesperson Guo added: "The reciprocal visits by the two heads of state within a six-month period are of historic, milestone significance. China is willing to work with the US to ... strengthen dialogue and cooperation, properly manage differences."
This will be the first state visit by a Chinese leader to Washington since September 2015 under Barack Obama.
White House Itinerary — What We Know
The White House has already released a detailed itinerary:
Wednesday, Sept. 23 — Arrival:
- Xi and wife Peng Liyuan arrive at Joint Base Andrews, just outside Washington DC
- Trump will personally greet Xi at the airport — a very rare military base arrival ceremony
Thursday, Sept. 24 — Main Day:
- Formal White House welcome ceremony with Rose Garden military review
- Bilateral meeting Trump-Xi — AI, trade, tariffs, critical minerals expected to dominate
- Separate event for First Ladies: Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan in Washington
- State Dinner in East Room of White House — Both presidents will speak. Guest list to include tech and finance executives — Tesla, Apple, Nvidia CEOs expected after accompanying Trump to Beijing in May
Friday, Sept. 25 — Tea and History:
- Tea at the White House
- Tour of the National Archives to view US founding documents
- Departure from Joint Base Andrews
Xi will NOT go to New York for UN General Assembly 81, which opens Tuesday. Politico sources confirmed Beijing deliberately skipped UNGA and did not send an advance team to New York. He last addressed UNGA in 2015.
*Why Now?*
The visit is reciprocal. Trump visited Beijing in May 2026 — his first trip to China in nine years — with a huge business delegation including Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Jensen Huang. There, he invited Xi to Washington.
Since then, Bessent and He Lifeng have opened talks on AI and trade, and on Wednesday, Marco Rubio and Wang Yi discussed "areas of cooperation to lay groundwork for a very positive visit," per State Department.
Trump said Thursday: "President Xi is coming over on September 24th, and we talked about AI when I was over in Beijing, and we'll be talking about it again... We're doing very well with China. President Xi and I have a good relationship. We're going to have a lot of different deals."
What Is On The Table
1. Trade & Tariffs: Truce extension, energy, critical minerals
2. AI Governance: Both leaders flagged AI as central topic — first time AI tops a US-China summit agenda
3. Iran & Middle East: China's purchases of Iranian oil was discussed in Beijing, will return
4. APEC & G20: Both agreed to support each other organizing APEC Nov 18-19 in Shenzhen and G20 Dec 14-15 in Miami
Wang Yi called US-China ties "the most important and complex in the world" and said leader diplomacy is the "guiding star."
For live updates from Washington and UNGA: https://afterpostint.com