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Trump hosts Xi in Washington and the sides extend their trade truce
Washington, District of ColumbiaPublished 25 Sep 2026
Daniel Torok / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain · source
Xi's first U.S. visit in more than a decade opened with a tarmac welcome and a state dinner. The governments extended their trade truce, and they still spoke past each other on Taiwan and artificial intelligence.
President Trump met President Xi at Joint Base Andrews and hosted him at the White House on September 24, 2026, Xi's first visit to the United States in more than a decade. As Xi arrived, Washington said the two sides had extended the trade truce reached in 2025; NBC reported the extension runs two months, to January 10. Xi said artificial intelligence must stay under human control. He also pressed the United States on Taiwan. Beijing's readout called the economic talks a new joint arrangement. U.S. coverage described a short extension and little public movement on the Iran war, chips, or a larger deal. The visit ended with a state dinner of sea bass and a bald-eagle gift, and with Xi saying China would send two pandas to the United States.
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Hostile, but hooked: What's behind the US-China trade truce extension?
Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
Xi arrived in Washington on Wednesday evening for Thursday's talks.
China then restricted exports of rare-earth metals used in high-tech goods.
It was the third time in less than a year that Trump and Xi met face to face.
On October 30 the leaders called a truce on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea.
A paused trade war between the United States and China is still simmering.
The truce included a Chinese agreement to buy more U.S. soybeans and a delay of the rare-earth export ban until January 10.
Beijing answered with its own tariffs.
Tariffs were heading toward 150 percent before a pause for talks.
Trump and Xi met again in May, when Trump traveled to Beijing.
Trump accused China of facilitating the flow of fentanyl to the United States.
Scott Bessent told Fox News he met Vice Premier He Lifeng to see if they could do a bigger deal.
The conflict now includes U.S. sanctions on buyers of Russian oil, including China, plus investment and research restrictions.
Democrats are leading in the polls amid higher energy costs from the war the United States started.
A July 2026 Congressional Research Service report said Chinese goods still face 36.5 percent U.S. tariffs and U.S. goods face 31 percent Chinese tariffs.
Le Corre said China sits on 60 percent of the world's known rare-earth deposits.
China also processes 90 percent of rare earths, Le Corre said.
Jon Bateman wrote that a partial decoupling of U.S. and Chinese technology is under way.
China ran a $1.2 trillion global trade surplus last year even with the trade war.
Al Jazeera said Iran-war costs pushed the U.S. to a record $40 trillion national debt two years early.
Last April, China restricted exports of five of the 12 rare-earth metals it mines.
In October China prepared to restrict seven more rare earths until the truce.
Bateman wrote that U.S. policymakers have pushed to depend less on Chinese technology.
Those export-restriction plans are on hold, not shelved.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory.
The United States approved an $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan in December last year.
Opinion
Al Jazeera said Washington and Beijing remain locked in a deeper strategic rivalry.
Einar Tangen said the two-month extension is a sandbag, not a bridge to a grand bargain.
Tangen called the truce transactional theatre for optics before the U.S. midterms.
Tangen said the truce is useful but fragile enough to end when it no longer helps Trump politically.
Al Jazeera said analysts have mostly dismissed hopes of a larger deal.
Philippe Le Corre said the short extension shows a more permanent deal is still out of reach.
Le Corre said the extensions are getting shorter because the two sides have not found common ground.
Le Corre called the two-month extension a terrible outcome for the United States.
Al Jazeera said Trump's unpopular Iran war has badly hurt his midterm chances.
Sun Chenghao called the truce extension a useful interim step.
Tangen said January's success will be whether the knot holds, not whether problems are solved.
Le Corre said nothing is resolved and many threats still hang over Washington.
Le Corre argued that Trump's entire China policy is short-sighted.
Al Jazeera said Trump needs wins on other issues.
Sun said the extension shows both sides want to keep the recent easing, and that this is meaningful progress.
Sun said a sustainable deal, from China's view, needs reciprocal benefits and more predictable policy.
Sun said extra purchases cannot forever offset uncertainty over tariffs, technology limits and market access.
Sun said the extension's value depends on concrete commitments from both governments.
Le Corre said that policy is bringing the world a lot of uncertainty.
Sun said still-higher tariffs would raise U.S. import and manufacturing costs and push up consumer prices.
Sun said higher tariffs would also hurt U.S. farmers and industrial exporters.
Tangen said Washington is playing economic chicken while depending on Chinese industrial inputs and carrying a $40 trillion debt.
Al Jazeera said any escalation of the trade war will be costly for both sides.
Tangen said Washington is hostile to China but hooked on it.
Sun said a worse trade war would pressure China's export orders, jobs and business confidence.
Tangen said the U.S. cannot threaten China's energy trade while needing Chinese rare earths for its arms industry.
Tangen said U.S. consumers would struggle with another tariff shock and likened the federal budget to a Ponzi scheme.
Al Jazeera said neither side can afford to lose the AI race.
Tangen warned an AI valuation collapse could trigger a financial crisis worse than 2008.
Le Corre said China will not give up rare-earth leverage.
Sun said any new tariff cuts will need broader coverage and a longer life.
Sun said a lasting deal needs real rare-earth deliveries, fewer new technology restrictions and completed market-access deals.
Tangen said the U.S. view of China as an existential threat has to change before there can be solutions.
Le Corre said China plans long term, but durable is a word that hardly fits Trump.
Sun said the truce could break if there are new tariffs, wider technology or mineral limits, or fights over whether promises were kept.
Al Jazeera said the path to a lasting trade deal will be long and rocky.
Analysts said Taiwan tensions could also break the trade relationship.
Sun said a durable agreement also needs regular talks and a way to resolve complaints.
Tangen said one round of arms sales could snap the trade truce at once.
Sun said there might be a chance if all of that can be worked out.
Trump and Xi exchange warm words at state dinner but little progress on key issues
Published 25 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
Trump has paused a weapons package for Taiwan.
Trump toasted a future of harmony, peace and success for both nations.
Billionaires and U.S. tech chief executives joined the leaders at Thursday's dinner.
Protesters shouted outside the White House gates, and some were arrested.
Xi said he and Trump had in-depth exchanges and reached common understanding on many issues.
Xi welcomed what he called a historic juncture and said the two leaders' ambitions could reinforce each other.
Chinese state media reported that Xi privately told Washington to handle Taiwan with prudence.
Xi confirmed he and Trump would meet again at APEC in Shenzhen and at the G20 in Florida in November.
The BBC said China believes the United States is trying to contain its rise and wants Washington out of the way on trade, technology and Taiwan.
Trump delayed approval of a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan.
Trump was expected to seek lower Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods, more rare-earth imports and more U.S. farm exports.
Trump has been clear that he sees China as the United States' main rival in developing AI.
In May, Xi warned that mishandling Taiwan could make the two countries collide or enter into conflict.
On Friday morning Xi said he and Trump were charting a great shift in China-U.S. relations.
The United States is legally bound to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
Trump called the Taiwan arms package a very good negotiating chip with Beijing.
Washington had not publicly commented on those Taiwan remarks.
Tim Cook, Jensen Huang and Elon Musk sat at the same table as Trump and Xi.
Pete Hegseth, Monica Crowley and Jared Kushner were among the guests.
Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Yass were also there.
Trump said Melania Trump helped design the eagle sculpture.
U.S. officials, conservative broadcasters and corporate executives also attended.
Trump said the dinner gathered the entire tech world and the entire banking world.
Anthropic, one of the biggest AI firms, was notably absent.
Leaders from General Motors, Visa, Paramount Skydance and ExxonMobil were also in the room.
Trump said everybody wanted to be at the dinner.
The group then toured the National Archives.
Melania Trump's office said the menu would showcase American ingredients with subtle Chinese influence.
On Friday, Trump and Xi had tea in the Red Room with their wives.
The first course was yellow squash, wild mushrooms and crispy pancetta.
Dessert was vanilla crémeux with sour cherry and ice cream made with White House honey.
Xi and his wife were expected to leave Washington later Friday.
The National Archives holds the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
Opinion
The BBC said little was said about the issues that divide the two leaders.
Xi said China and the United States must act as responsible major countries and find a new way to get along.
The BBC said there was little sign of what progress the leaders made on AI beyond Xi's human-control line.
The BBC called the dinner a continuation of the lavish welcome Xi had received.
Trump rolls out red carpets for Xi Jinping, though he has portrayed China as a global menace
Published 25 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
NBC said it was the first time Trump has met a visiting world leader on the tarmac.
Trump has accused China of hacking U.S. elections and plundering American wealth.
A second red carpet was laid out Thursday when Xi and Peng Liyuan arrived at the White House.
Trump and Xi held a private meeting in the Oval Office Thursday morning.
Two months ago Trump said in a prime-time speech that China interfered in the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
Three people told NBC that an F-15 shot down over Iran in April was most likely hit by a Chinese-made shoulder-fired missile.
A person familiar and a U.S. official said China may have given Iran radar able to spot stealth aircraft early in the seven-month war.
Foreign policy experts said no substantive breakthroughs were expected at the summit.
Kennedy said Xi could reopen the strait with a phone call and is helping Iran with equipment and intelligence.
The presidents were set to discuss trade, the Iran war and artificial intelligence.
After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Iran choked the Strait of Hormuz.
NBC said one source of Xi's leverage is China's hold on rare earths used in high-tech manufacturing.
Trump showed Xi White House projects he prizes.
Trump took Xi to see a helipad he built on the South Lawn.
Trump told reporters they had a great meeting and that Xi loves good granite.
Along the West Wing colonnade, Trump showed Xi his Presidential Walk of Fame.
Trump paused at Biden's portrait and refers to him as Autopen.
Both men pointed at the helipad's granite base.
A White House video shows the two presidents chuckling at Biden's picture.
An April 2025 White House statement on the Liberation Day tariffs said Chinese practices decimated U.S. industry.
NBC said Trump's approval rating has hit a second-term low.
A media ban Trump imposed last week made the summit unusually hard to watch live.
Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House grounds, and they sued to get back in.
Other networks suspended video pool coverage of Trump in solidarity with the banned outlets.
A federal judge had ordered the outlets' access restored, but they stayed barred until about two hours after Xi arrived.
ABC declined to record because it was unclear when the banned outlets would get access back.
CNN is part of the five-network press pool that covers the president's public events.
Trump wrote that CNN and MS NOW refused to cover Xi's White House arrival.
CNN and MS NOW journalists were physically unable to cover Xi's arrival at the White House.
ABC News had been scheduled to provide the pool video.
At a later photo spray, Trump joked that China had the friendliest press corps, a pool report said.
A White House official asked a network journalist where the camera was.
A Reporters Without Borders survey ranked China 178th of 180 countries for press freedom, between North Korea and Iran.
Trump noticed that TV coverage had thinned.
Opinion
NBC said Trump has showered Xi with tributes and affection at this week's White House summit.
Sen. Roger Wicker said he would have advised Trump not to invite Xi for such a lavish welcome.
NBC said China may also have aided Iran in the war with the United States.
NBC said Trump has set out to charm Xi.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the red-carpet treatment was a little over the top.
Sen. John Kennedy said he did not mind a dinner for Xi but that Trump should not believe Xi.
NBC said honoring Xi may undercut Trump's midterm argument against Democrats.
Trump has warned that Democratic candidates would steer the United States in a communist direction.
Experts said Trump entered the summit weakened by the Iran war and midterms in which his party could lose its slim majority.
Experts said Trump lacks the leverage to wring concessions from China.
Retired Adm. Mark Montgomery said Trump was entering the summit playing a weak hand.
Kennedy said Xi learned to lie before he learned to talk.
NBC said Xi is president for life while Trump risks losing his majority in Congress.
NBC said Trump has mocked Biden by calling him Autopen.
NBC said confronting Xi in the moment may be difficult for Trump.
NBC said confusion reigned in the hours before Xi arrived.
President Xi Jinping Holds Talks with U.S. President Donald J. Trump
Published 25 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
Xi said the two sides' economic teams reached a new joint arrangement.
Xi said that in May he and Trump agreed to build a constructive relationship of strategic stability.
Xi said the Chinese and U.S. presidents are exchanging visits in less than half a year.
Xi said the two sides can keep talking about AI risks and work to prevent misuse.
Xi said both China and the United States have strong AI capabilities.
Xi said China's position on reunification and territorial integrity is clear-cut.
Trump called Xi's state visit a great visit.
Trump and Xi agreed to support each other in hosting the 2026 APEC leaders' meeting and the G20 summit.
The two presidents also discussed the Middle East, the Ukraine crisis and the Korean Peninsula.
Cai Qi, Wang Yi and He Lifeng were among those at the talks.
Opinion
Xi called visits less than half a year apart unprecedented in China-U.S. relations.
Xi said cooperation should be the mainstay and competition kept within limits.
Xi called that vision an important step toward the right way for the two countries to get along.
Xi said China and the United States should seek mutual benefit and manage differences.
Xi called the new trade arrangement good news for both countries and the world economy.
Xi said stable trade ties require a longer list of cooperation and a shorter list of issues.
Xi said China and the United States may compete on AI but can cooperate even more.
Xi hoped the two sides would keep improving economic and trade ties.
Xi said cooperation is a two-way street.
Xi said equality and mutual respect can always produce a way to resolve differences.
Xi said the two countries should draw on each other's strengths rather than guard against each other.
Xi said AI should be people-centered and developed for good.
Trump said the two sides should keep talking and reach a better deal.
Trump said the U.S.-China relationship will undoubtedly be a success under their leadership.
Trump said artificial intelligence concerns the future of humanity.
Trump said the United States and China are both great nations.
Long agenda, short meeting: Trump and Xi meet
Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
Feng said Trump went to the tarmac himself, a first for a Chinese state visit.
The leaders' meeting lasted about an hour.
Xi and Trump were set to meet again that evening in the East Room for a state dinner.
Xi received a military flyover that Putin did not get at an Alaska welcome last year.
Trump suggested the United States and China most likely will not pursue joint regulation of AI.
Xi invoked the 100,000 Strong initiative and proposed sending students both ways again.
Feng said both leaders cited examples of U.S.-China cooperation over 150 years.
Feng said Putin did get a ride in Trump's motorcade.
Both leaders mentioned that Americans and Chinese fought on the same side in World War II.
Feng said the U.S. side is working to lock in Chinese purchases of farm goods.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, just before the welcome, that AI would be discussed with Xi that day.
The administration is trying to close a 200-plane Boeing sale to China that was announced earlier but not yet carried out.
Trump mentioned the Flying Tigers.
Feng said the administration is still chasing tariff details and on-schedule U.S. soybean purchases.
Feng said even a signed Boeing deal would not mean quick delivery because order books run for years.
Feng said the dinner would include an American sparkling wine.
Feng said the Marine Band was rehearsing for the evening's entertainment.
Feng heard the Chinese anthem and the song "My Motherland And Me" being rehearsed.
Opinion
Feng said both leaders want a smooth visit even though they will not leave in agreement.
Kelly called the tarmac meeting a rare diplomatic gesture.
Feng said the welcome was a grand gesture that did not go unnoticed in China.
Feng said the welcome shows how much Trump weights his personal relationship with China.
Feng said a success for China is Xi looking as powerful as the United States.
Feng called the tarmac welcome a big gesture.
Feng said the two leaders' opening remarks were conciliatory.
Feng said Trump is trying to look stable and strong before the midterm elections.
Feng said cracks were already showing in the visit.
Feng said the hotline has been discussed for months and is now being presented as an achievement.
Feng said Trump is looking for small wins.
Feng said the AI hotline might be announced as a summit deliverable.