China’s leader Xi Jinping is expected to hold highly anticipated talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, as both sides look to ease tensions on trade and discuss increasingly capable artificial intelligence (AI) systems. On Wednesday evening, Trump and US First lady Melania Trump greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, with a rare red carpet welcome: No US president has welcomed a visiting guest personally at the base in six decades. Earlier in the day, China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, reported that Xi and Peng were being accompanied by Xi’s closest aide and adviser, Cai Qi, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The White House said the talks scheduled for Thursday will mark “a significant milestone in the relationship between the two countries”. But the state visit – Xi’s first to the US in more than a decade – is likely to touch on multiple points of tension, including Trump’s war on Iran, the fallout from his global tariffs, and the threat of war over the island of Taiwan, which China claims as its territory. Trump personally met Xi on his arrival at Joint Base Andrews.
But the main event is on Thursday morning, when Xi will receive a ceremonial welcome at the White House, accompanied by a military flyover and nearly 500 military personnel. After the two leaders hold talks during the day, Trump will host a state dinner for Xi at the White House in the evening. This event is expected to include chiefs of companies important in both markets, such as Apple’s Tim Cook, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
The visit will wrap up on Friday morning when the two presidential couples will have tea at the White House and then visit the National Archives to round off the trip. Instead of a joint press conference or statement at the end, the countries are expected to issue separate announcements highlighting what each side hopes to convey to its own domestic audience. Ahead of the main meeting on Thursday, the two sides have already walked away from an imminent cliff: Their current 11-month trade truce was set to expire in November, but has now been extended until January 10, giving their negotiating teams more time to hammer out a broader deal.
The war in Iran is also likely to feature prominently in the discussions. Beijing has maintained close ties with Tehran, but it’s unclear whether a meeting with Xi will do anything to help Trump break the ongoing stalemate in the conflict. Washington may hope that Beijing could use its influence over Tehran, observers say, but Trump has so far maintained he sees no need to seek China’s help.
The two countries are also likely to talk more about the race to develop AI, as they are in fierce competition but mindful of growing dangers. Washington has proposed a new “notification mechanism” with China to alert each other of any AI incident serious enough to threaten national security. China is also expected to raise the issue of Taiwan.
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