Xi Arrives for First US State Visit in a Decade — SkimNews
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- Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on September 24, 2026 for his first US state visit in a decade, receiving a rare planeside welcome from Trump at Joint Base Andrews with a red carpet lined by US service members and a military flyover.
- China's Xi called for the two countries to be "partners rather than rivals" in a written statement carried by Xinhua, adding that Chinese and US interests are "deeply intertwined" and that he looked forward to "in-depth exchanges" on bilateral and global issues.
- Trump is pushing for the release of Jimmy Lai, the 78-year-old Hong Kong media tycoon sentenced to 20 years in prison under China's National Security Law — a request Trump previously raised with Xi during a May meeting in Beijing.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the US and China have extended the "Busan Agreement" trade truce by two months past its original November 10 expiration, buying both sides more time to negotiate a broader economic détente.
- Thursday's main summit agenda is expected to cover trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan, Ukraine, and the wars in Iran, with a state dinner attended by top US tech executives signaling AI's prominence.
- Xi's three-day itinerary also includes a visit to the National Archives to view the original Declaration of Independence and Constitution, while UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has separately asked Trump to press the Lai case given Lai's British citizenship.
Why it matters: The two-month Busan Agreement trade truce extension — past its original November 10 expiration — buys Beijing and Washington more time to negotiate thorny issues including Taiwan and AI export controls. Trump's parallel push for Jimmy Lai's release makes human rights an explicit agenda item rather than a sidebar.
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