&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump-Xi Jinping Meeting 2026 Live Updates: Trump hails ‘great friendship’ with Xi at White House")
Trump-Xi Jinping Meeting 2026 Live Updates: US President Donald Trump is set to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday (Sep 24) as Washington and Beijing seek to preserve a fragile detente despite deep disagreements over trade, technology and geopolitics.
Trump personally welcomed Xi on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday (Sep 23), marking the first time in more than six decades that a US president has greeted a foreign political leader there.
The ceremony on Thursday will be even more elaborate, with a formal welcome on the White House South Lawn, a military flyover, Oval Office talks and a grand state banquet.
Trade truce extended
The pageantry comes against the backdrop of an uneasy trade relationship between the world’s two biggest economies. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Wednesday that Washington and Beijing had agreed to extend their trade truce by two months, pushing back a deadline that was due in November. Both sides have an interest in preventing a return to the trade war triggered by Trump’s sweeping tariffs last year. However, the summit is not expected to produce major breakthroughs, with the focus instead on keeping the wider thaw intact.
Iran, AI and Taiwan on agenda
Xi struck a conciliatory tone after arriving in Washington, saying China and the United States should be “partners rather than rivals.”
Meanwhile, Trump confirmed that Iran would feature in his talks with Xi, alongside several other major issues.
Artificial intelligence is also expected to take centre stage as Washington and Beijing compete for technological leadership while concerns grow over the potential risks posed by advanced AI.
Taiwan will be another sensitive issue. Beijing claims the self-governing island as its territory, while Washington has long maintained close ties with Taipei.
A summit heavy on ceremony
The White House programme includes a military inspection, remarks by both leaders and a gift-giving ceremony involving Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan. Trump and Xi are also due to attend a state dinner featuring prominent US technology and AI executives.
Xi's visit will conclude on Friday (Sep 25) morning with tea at the White House before the two presidential couples visit the National Archives, home to the US Declaration of Independence.
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CNN journalists were allowed back into the White House after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate access.
“We should strengthen communication. China and the United States are different in national conditions, but through candid, in-depth and continued dialogue, our two countries can understand each other better, seek common ground while shelving differences, and build up mutual trust.”
“China and the United States, as two major countries, stand to gain from cooperation and will both lose in a confrontation.”
“Our two militaries should maintain regular dialogue and improve mechanisms for crisis communication and prevention.”
US Senate democratic Leader Chuck Schumer accused President Donald Trump Thursday of being in thrall to authoritarian leaders, pointing to his red-carpet welcome for China's Xi Jinping.
US President Donald Trump said that the US and China have a relationship built on “mutual respect” and the two nations “forged a truly great friendship”. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated the US on its 250th anniversary of independence and reminded that Chinese and US troops fought “shoulder to shoulder” against fascist aggression in WW2. He said that he was pleased to pay a state visit to the "beautiful" United States and was ready to work with Trump to steer the two-nation relationship towards a steady future.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said that two giant pandas will be heading to Atlanta soon, following an announcement earlier this year of a new conservation deal.
"In a few days, two pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, will come to their new home in Zoo Atlanta and meet with the American people," Xi said after arriving at the White House.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said his first trip to the US in over a decade is aimed at promoting friendship and expanding cooperation between the two nations.
Xi added that he stands ready to work with US President Donald Trump to “steer the giant ship of China-US relationship on a steady course toward the future.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday that Washington and Beijing have a responsibility to "develop and manage AI for good," with the rapidly developing technology key on the agenda for his meeting with US President Donald Trump.
US, China have 'historic responsibility' to further human development: Xi
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he would discuss "pressing issues" including artificial intelligence in talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House.
Welcoming Xi Jinping at the White House, Trump said, “Melania and I are honoured to welcome you. Since my re-election, we have built a true friendship. This is the first time we are meeting together at the White House.”
US President Donald Trump is hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on September 24, with trade, technology, Taiwan and critical minerals among the key issues shaping ties. As the leaders meet, let’s compare the two leading global powers in numbers.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Washington for his first state visit in 11 years, and he is being accompanied by his wife – Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan. While the focus remains on his meeting with US President Donald Trump, the Chinese First Lady also has a busy schedule during this three-day visit to the US. Peng is scheduled to join US First Lady Melania Trump for a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art and will attend the White House state dinner with Xi on September 24. The two first ladies are also expected to have separate engagements during the summit. As the Chinese President and First Lady landed in Maryland this morning, Peng greeted and met Trump and Melania. She wore a dove grey (or pale grey-blue) dress paired with a pale, light-colored scarf wrapped around her neck when she landed at Joint Base Andrews.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived for his first state visit to the United States in 11 years, meeting Donald Trump for the second time this year. Trade, AI, tariffs, rare earths, Taiwan and the Iran war top the agenda. Analysts expect a visit heavy on optics and symbolism but light on substantive progress, as commitments from May's Beijing summit remain unevenly fulfilled.
Hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in the US for a high-stakes summit with US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved to restrict visas for those who “engage in or facilitate” birth tourism." In a statement, Rubio said that the restrictions target foreigners who "knowingly engage in, have engaged in, or facilitate birth tourism," including non-citizens who work in the birth tourism industry, as well as fixers who coach visa applicants to commit fraud, as well as others "who support, abet, and enable commercial birth tourism."
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at Joint Base Andrews near Washington for a closely watched state visit, where he received an unusually personal welcome from US President Donald Trump. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, on the tarmac after the Chinese leader stepped off his aircraft. The airport reception immediately became one of the defining images of the visit, given how rarely US presidents personally travel to an airport to welcome visiting foreign leaders.
President Donald Trump said early Thursday that China and the United States were united in their opposition to AI guardrails, suggesting ahead of his summit with counterpart Xi Jinping that the US legal system would keep the technology in check.
"Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is," Trump said, using his new moniker for artificial intelligence.
"That is China's position also. Our guardrail is the DOJ!" he added, referring to the US Department of Justice.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington this week for a high-stakes three-day summit, as the two countries seek to stabilise ties strained by disputes over trade, Taiwan and the Iran war. Xi arrived in Washington on Wednesday (September 23), marking his first visit to the US capital in more than a decade. The meeting will also be the second interaction between Xi and Trump this year.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in Washington on Thursday (Sep 24), with trade once again at the centre of a relationship that has swung between tariff escalation and uneasy truces. The two countries have pulled back from the extraordinary tariff battle that pushed US duties on Chinese imports as high as 145 per cent and China's retaliatory tariffs to 125 per cent. But the underlying disputes have not disappeared. Tariffs, rare earths, agricultural purchases and technology controls remain unresolved, while new disagreements over artificial intelligence and sanctions linked to Iran are adding fresh complications.
When Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Washington, the conversation will go far beyond tariffs and trade. At the centre of the relationship is a much larger contest: who will lead the next generation of artificial intelligence, semiconductors and advanced technology? AI has become a strategic issue for both Washington and Beijing because its applications extend from consumer technology to defence, cybersecurity, finance and critical infrastructure. Reuters reported ahead of the meeting that AI competition is expected to be a central issue in the talks.
The Trump administration’s campaign to squeeze Iran’s economy is running into a major complication: China. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has expanded Washington’s use of economic pressure against Tehran, including secondary sanctions aimed at companies, banks, traders and other entities helping Iran maintain its economic lifelines. The strategy is designed to make doing business with Iran increasingly costly even for entities that are outside the United States.
