Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are due to meet at the White House on 23 September, with the unusual gesture of Trump personally welcoming Xi at Joint Base Andrews. The summit will focus on renewing a fragile trade truce, securing supplies of rare minerals, managing AI competition and addressing sensitive geopolitical issues including Taiwan and Iran.

The existing agreement expires on 10 November and could be extended, alongside possible purchase targets for agricultural goods, energy and Boeing aircraft. Discussions may also cover around $30 billion of non-sensitive goods, rare-earth exports, chip controls and AI safety, but China wants technology restrictions eased and has opposed potential US arms sales to Taiwan. Analysts expect limited, practical agreements rather than a major breakthrough.