Xi Jinping to make first state visit to US in 11 years, meet Trump from Wednesday

Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a three-day state visit to the United States beginning Wednesday, his first such trip in 11 years. Xi is expected to meet President Donald Trump to discuss bilateral relations and key issues including rare earths and trade.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular briefing Monday (local time) that Xi would travel to the US at Trump's invitation. "During the visit, President Xi Jinping will have in-depth exchanges with President Trump on major issues concerning China-US relations and world peace and development," Guo said.

Guo added that "summit diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-US relations," and went on to say that the two leaders' mutual visits within six months carried "historic and milestone significance."

He said China was willing to work with the United States to enrich the substance of a "constructive and strategically stable China-US relationship," strengthen dialogue and cooperation, and manage differences. China also sought to promote the welfare of the two peoples and advance world peace, stability and prosperity, he added.

Xi's last state visit to the US was in September 2015, during the presidency of Barack Obama — 11 years ago. He also visited the US in 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2023, but the 2015 trip was his only state visit.

During that 2015 state visit, Xi projected confidence as a rising superpower challenging the world's sole superpower. Starting his US visit in Seattle, he criticized American efforts to contain China, using a metaphor about viewing things through tinted glasses. He then met Obama in Washington, where the two sides clashed over the South China Sea, human rights and religious freedom, and Tibet.

However, Xi also sent a warning directed at North Korea, saying China opposed actions that created tension on the Korean Peninsula or violated UN Security Council resolutions. That aligned him with Obama, who had said the US would not recognize North Korea as a nuclear state.

This year, by contrast, Xi is emphasizing a "constructive and strategically stable relationship" aimed at preventing conflict. The two countries are also expected to put AI safety on the agenda.