What will Trump and Xi discuss in Washington next week? — SkimNews
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- Xi Jinping arrives at the White House on September 24 for his first US visit in a decade, heading an economy on track for a second straight $1 trillion trade surplus year; Trump is seeking trade wins to offset low approval ratings and voter discontent over rising prices.
- A tariff truce negotiated at the October Trump-Xi summit in South Korea expires November 10; USTR Jamieson Greer signaled upcoming "announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers" plus progress on a mutual tariff reduction covering $30 billion in goods.
- China is preparing a major business delegation and could announce purchases of up to 500 Boeing 737 MAX jets plus wide-body planes, building on May's commitment of 200 jets and a stalled deal Trump has threatened with engine-parts restrictions.
- Asian allies fear Trump may soften US support for Taiwan to lock in economic wins; Beijing wants Washington to shift from "not supporting" Taiwan's independence to actively opposing it, a change Reuters notes would provoke fierce congressional opposition.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stopped short of sanctioning Chinese banks when unveiling an "economic onslaught" on Iran last month, despite a Reuters report that Beijing sells billions in goods to Tehran via a sanctions-evasion scheme; Trump dismissed a separate report that Iran obtained satellite imagery from Chinese entities before a July attack on US troops in Jordan.
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned this month that Chinese AI dominance poses security risks to the US; Chinese state media called it "Cold War playbook," while Trump dismissed exaggerated AI concerns as pushed by "very negative forces."
- FBI Director Kash Patel told Reuters he forged a new law enforcement partnership with China on fentanyl precursors, after the Supreme Court struck down Trump's fentanyl-related tariffs on China in February.
Why it matters: With midterms approaching and approval ratings low, Trump needs concrete deliverables from the September 24 summit — Boeing purchases, agricultural deals, fentanyl cooperation — to claim trade wins, while Beijing holds leverage on Taiwan language and continued Iranian oil purchases. If the November 10 tariff truce lapses without extension, the 100%+ tit-for-tat duties that already roiled global supply chains return, compounding disruption from the Iran war.
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