Trump to Host Xi in Washington as Trade Truce, Taiwan and Iran Top Agenda

US President Donald Trump will host Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington next week for their second meeting this year, with the two sides seeking stability in a relationship strained by disputes over trade, Taiwan, Iran and the risks posed by artificial intelligence.

Xi's arrival marks his first visit to the White House in ten years. He comes as China's economy is on course to record a $1 trillion trade surplus for a second consecutive year, while Trump, contending with the Iran war and weak approval ratings, is seeking trade wins to present to Americans concerned about rising prices. The September 24 summit follows Trump's trip to Beijing in May.

Trade truce in focus

Markets will look for signals on whether the tariff truce agreed after a Trump-Xi summit in South Korea last October will be extended beyond its November 10 expiry. That deal halted a trade war in which the world's two largest economies exchanged tariffs exceeding 100%, threatening global supply chains.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said the two countries will make announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers. Traders will watch for movement on a mutual tariff reduction covering $30 billion in goods, a step China could take most readily by lowering duties on US farm imports. Washington has continued to press Beijing over what it calls a lack of compliance with last year's agreement, while China has sought further tariff relief.

Jets, farm goods and technology

Trump is expected to seek announcements before November's midterm congressional elections, including firm commitments on Boeing aircraft and agricultural purchases. Xi is preparing to bring a large business delegation, similar to his 2015 visit when China signed a $38 billion agreement for 300 Boeing jets. After the May summit, China said it would buy 200 more Boeing aircraft, which the company described as only an initial tranche of a potentially larger deal.

Beijing has been in prolonged talks with Boeing over a transaction industry sources say could involve 500 737 MAX jets plus dozens of wide-body planes, stalled for years amid Trump's threats to cut off access to critical spare engine parts. China has also pressed Washington to further delay a rule barring thousands of Chinese firms from receiving advanced US technology, while the US wants Beijing to ease shipments of rare earths and critical minerals used in automobiles, aerospace and defence manufacturing.

Iran war

The two presidents are expected to discuss the Iran war, which Trump has struggled to end since launching it with Israel in February. China maintains close ties with Tehran and is by far the largest buyer of Iranian oil exports. Washington sees Xi as uniquely positioned to pressure Tehran, though he has shown little inclination to do so. Beijing is selling billions of dollars' worth of goods to Iran through a sanctions-evasion scheme, while China's foreign ministry says it is unaware of any such arrangement.

Despite US frustration, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stopped short of penalising Chinese banks when he announced an "economic onslaught" against Iran last month and warned countries to cut business ties with Tehran. Bessent has said he would meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this weekend and that Trump and Xi would continue discussions on China's financial links to Tehran at the summit. On Sunday, Trump dismissed a report that Iran had acquired satellite images of a base in Jordan from Chinese entities before an attack that killed three US troops there in July.

Taiwan

China has long sought concessions from Trump over Taiwan, the democratically governed island Beijing claims as its own and the world's leading producer of cutting-edge chips. Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims and says only its people can decide their future. US law requires the administration to give Taiwan the means to defend itself, but questions have hung over a pending arms package worth up to $14 billion since Trump's Beijing visit.

Beijing hopes to persuade Trump to state publicly that the US opposes Taiwan's independence, rather than saying only that it does not support independence, Washington's formulation for decades. Any shift would be highly contentious, raising doubts about US resolve to defend the island, alarming allies across Asia and drawing opposition in Congress.

Artificial intelligence

Analysts see AI as a possible area for cooperation given its implications for national security, economic competitiveness and military capabilities, and shared concerns about misuse. Experts caution, however, that intense competition is likely to limit any outcome to symbolic agreements. Bessent has said the US was open to discussing shared risks with China in AI talks this weekend.

US lawmakers have urged new rules to govern AI systems, while Dario Amodei, chief executive of US artificial-intelligence firm Anthropic, warned this month that Chinese dominance in AI could pose security risks to the United States. Chinese state media dismissed the warning as coming from a "Cold War playbook", and Trump has brushed aside calls to slow AI development, saying "very negative forces" were raising exaggerated concerns.

Fentanyl precursors

Curbing the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals from China remains a concern for the Trump administration given the drug's toll among Americans. Washington has repeatedly accused Beijing of failing to stem the flow, and Trump imposed fentanyl-related tariffs on China in early 2025 that the US Supreme Court struck down in February. FBI Director Kash Patel said last month that he had forged a new law enforcement partnership with China in hopes of curbing the trade.