After delaying confirmation of the upcoming summit amid a health scare, Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Washington this week for meetings with President Trump, China’s Foreign Ministry announced Monday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing that Mr. Xi’s state visit will take place “soon,” though no further details were provided.
“During his visit, President Xi will have in-depth exchange of views with President Trump on major issues concerning bilateral ties and world peace and development,” Mr. Guo said.
On Friday, Mr. Guo declined to say if the Chinese leader would travel to the U.S., noting that the U.S. and China were “in communication” on a meeting of the heads of state “within the year.”
The visit follows Mr. Xi’s visit to India, when he appeared to suffer a medical issue during a meeting of the BRICS nations in New Delhi.
The Chinese leader missed the gala on Sept. 12 because he was “unwell,” The Wall Street Journal reported, quoting people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Xi skipped a leaders’ banquet and returned to China where he was not seen in public amid reports he was in a special Beijing hospital for senior Chinese Communist Party leaders.
A senior Trump administration official said last week in response to a question about Mr. Xi’s health that the White House has been given no information about Mr. Xi altering plans for the summit.
Mr. Guo said leaders’ meetings are irreplaceable to strategic guidance for China-U.S. relations.
“The exchange of visits by the two presidents within the span of half a year will mark a milestone of historic significance,” he said, referring to Mr. Trump’s May visit to China.
The spokesman repeated the phrase used to describe the new thaw in bilateral relations after Mr. Trump visited China: seeking constructive relations built on strategic stability.
The two leaders also hope to bolster dialogue and cooperation and “manage differences,” Mr. Guo said.
American officials said Mr. Xi arrives Wednesday and items on the agenda for discussions include artificial intelligence safety, continuing a trade truce reached in October 2025 and halting Chinese support for the manufacturing of deadly fentanyl.
“It does not appear that China has elevated this issue where China is the overwhelming predominant supplier of precursor chemicals to the cartels in Mexico and remains so,” a senior administration official told reporters.
Mr. Xi is expected to press the president to loosen export controls on advanced semiconductors used in AI. Chinese officials have called U.S. restrictions an effort to stifle economic growth.
The Chinese also are seeking a reduction in tariffs, and the administration official said the U.S. is considering a reduction in tariffs on non-strategic and other non-sensitive exports.
U.S. and China differences on Taiwan and American defensive arms sold to the island, and the Iran conflict and China’s role in supporting Tehran, also are likely to be discussed during the summit.
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