Trump and Xi Meet at White House as Trade Truce, Taiwan Loom

Synopsis

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are making their state visit to the White House on 24 September, while world leaders are attending the UN in New York. Xi won't be in attendance at the Assembly. The agenda includes tariffs, rare earths, Taiwan, AI, and the Iran war, and analysts predict that few results will come of the meeting. It was not announced at the time of writing what the result of the talks was.

Chinese President Xi Jinping travels to the United States this week, but won't speak at UN General Assembly. His three-day visit started on 23 September, when he met with Donald Trump in the White House on 24 September. The discussions are occurring in Washington, not in New York and they coincide with UN's yearly summit.

The program is two stages long, a week

On 22 September over 130 leaders took part in the UN General Debate. Trump met with Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on the sidelines of New York Tuesday for a meeting two days before the summit. According to ABC Australia's analysis the Washington meeting was the "one that could shape the world's immediate future.

The ceremonial programme

The Trumps will meet with Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, on the White House State Floor, then have a troop review in the Rose Garden and private bilateral discussions. Then there's a state dinner in the East Room, which is set to be attended by tech bosses like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Michael Dell.

What is in the hands of a person on the table

Tariffs, rare earth minerals, Taiwan, artificial intelligence and a burgeoning military rivalry are all on the agenda.

This 11-month trade truce between the two countries will also expire in November. The truce is a result of the October 2025 talks in South Korea. During Trump's visit to China in May, both sides signed a Board of Trade and Investment and agreed to purchase Boeing aircraft and U.S. farm goods from China.

But Trump has since slapped an additional 12.5% duty on 60 trading partners, also for forced labour imports with China. Trump is set to hold a showdown with Xi on the sidelines of the G7.

The key issue - whether or not to extend the truce - was settled before the leaders' official meeting, according to NBC News. It said that the US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that there had been some progress on buying 200 Boeing jets, while there had been little on the trade and investment boards.

The Iran war and rare earths

Now in its seventh month, the Iran war has left US ammunition stocks low, highlighting reliance on Beijing's near monopoly on rare earths. Iran also has closed down the Strait of Hormuz, a stretch of water that carries 20 per cent of the world's energy supply.

Washington would prefer not to hear Xi make any strong assertions about his right to Taiwan and it was likely he would, according to people with knowledge of the plans, so would Trump, who would be keeping strict U.S. export controls in place despite Xi's concerns.

"Relatively underwhelming, with a small number of deliverables." — Scott Kennedy, Center for Strategic and International Studies

This is really beneficial for China's interest primarily, Kennedy added. Another view has it that Xi is looking to maintain the status quo, pass time and watch the November midterm elections alter the political momentum in the United States.

The domestic backdrop

Persistent inflation has taken a toll on Trump's favourability and he is looking for economic gains ahead of the midterm elections in November. He is also involved in an ongoing trade dispute with Canada and would like to prevent the Beijing truce from falling apart. Xi, on the other hand, has leverage in his possession because of his ability to control the supply of rare-earth metals.

Outlook

Markets are waiting for any signs on tariffs and export controls, as this will impact both supply chains and technology access, in Delhi and beyond. Any announcements would take place after the leaders' talk at the dinner.

Until then, there are the solid facts: the agenda, the calendar and the stakes - a truce that ends in November, an unresolved Taiwan issue, and an interdependence on materials largely under a single party's control.

The symbolism of the two leaders on two levels in one country, as well as their communiqué, can say as much.