Trump to Host Xi at White House as Trade Truce Nears Expiry
Xi Jinping will meet Donald Trump at the White House on September 24, with the two sides seeking to keep a fragile trade truce on track.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on September 24, with talks aimed at keeping a fragile trade truce on track ahead of its expiry in November.
Both sides have tempered expectations of major breakthroughs, though investors and analysts will be watching for any signal that the truce could be extended.
The meeting caps more than a year and a half of escalation and de-escalation between the world's two largest economies.
How the dispute unfolded
In February 2025, one of Trump's first moves after returning to office was a 10% duty on Chinese goods, tied to fentanyl and immigration concerns. Beijing responded with levies on US coal, LNG, crude oil and automobiles, and restricted exports of five metals used in defence and clean energy.
A month later, Washington doubled the fentanyl-related tariffs on China to 20%. China retaliated with 10%–15% levies on US agricultural goods, affecting $21 billion in exports.
April 2025 brought a sharp escalation. Trump unveiled sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs, including a 34% rate on China effective April 9. Beijing matched them, and both sides raised duties rapidly — US tariffs climbed to 84% and then 125%, while China's rose to the same levels. Beijing also curbed rare-earth exports and warned its citizens against travel to the United States.
Talks in Geneva in May produced a 90-day pause, cutting US tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% from 145% and China's to 10% from 125%. The pause was extended by another 90 days in August.
In October, China widened its rare-earth export controls. Trump answered with an additional 100% tariff and export controls on critical software, while threatening curbs on Boeing parts. Later that month, the two leaders struck a truce after talks in South Korea. Trump agreed to trim tariffs in exchange for Beijing cracking down on fentanyl precursors, resuming soybean purchases and pausing rare-earth export controls.
Legal setback and a Beijing summit
In February 2026, the US Supreme Court ruled against Trump's emergency tariffs, striking down the China fentanyl tariffs and the reciprocal tariff regime. Trump responded with a temporary 10% global duty under a different statute.
During a May 2026 visit to Beijing for a summit with Xi, the two sides announced plans to create new Boards of Trade and Investment, while China agreed to purchase Boeing jets and US farm products.
In July 2026, Washington imposed new 12.5% tariffs on goods from 60 trading partners, including China, over allegations that those countries failed to curb imports made with forced labour.