Trump says friendship with Xi is genuine ahead of state dinner
Xi arrived in Washington for a Thursday dinner with Trump, with the trade truce and seized F-35 parts on the agenda
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UpdateThursday, September 24, 2026 at 1:55 PM ET
The later filing puts the trade truce extension at two months from Thursday, a longer window than the earlier report of a truce running through early November.
Xi called for "healthy" U.S.-China competition and extended the trade truce by two months. He also announced 100,000 U.S. youth exchanges and said artificial intelligence should always remain under human control.
UpdateThursday, September 24, 2026 at 10:45 AM ET
Xi Jinping said China and the United States must avoid conflict and find a way to coexist peacefully, telling Trump that competition between the two powers should not be about winning or losing. The remarks came hours before the two leaders sit down for tonight's state dinner in Washington. Xi also said China's door is open to American firms, offered cooperation on narcotics enforcement, and said Beijing and Washington share responsibility for managing artificial intelligence. Trump said the two sides have made tremendous strides on trade, with security, technology and AI also set to come up at the dinner.
UpdateThursday, September 24, 2026 at 10:45 AM ET
Xi said he is willing to work with Trump to steer relations between the two countries and that both sides should strengthen communication. Security and artificial intelligence have joined trade and technology on the agenda for tonight's state dinner. Trump said the two sides have made tremendous strides on trade. Separately, China's foreign minister called for dialogue on the Strait of Hormuz dispute as Xi arrived in the country.
UpdateThursday, September 24, 2026 at 10:45 AM ET
Xi said China welcomes US firms to invest in the country and offered to step up cooperation on narcotics and law enforcement. He also framed China and the US as fellow artificial intelligence powers rather than rivals. Trump said the two sides have made tremendous strides on trade, with security, technology and artificial intelligence also set for discussion at Thursday's dinner.
UpdateThursday, September 24, 2026 at 10:40 AM ET
Xi Jinping said he came to Washington to explore cooperation and to visit in a spirit of friendship, calling China and the United States great nations and saying he is willing to work with Trump to steer the relationship between the two countries. Trump said the two sides have made tremendous strides on trade and that the leaders will also discuss security, technology and artificial intelligence at Thursday's dinner.
Trump says he and Xi have forged a great friendship, built on mutual respect.
Xi arrived in Washington ahead of the dinner, with the extended trade truce and the seized F-35 parts on the agenda. The two leaders are set to speak at the state dinner at 7:55pm Thursday. Xi has said his visit is sure to be fruitful with joint efforts and that the historical logic of peaceful coexistence between China and the U.S. has not changed.
China is holding sensitive F-35 parts that were diverted to Hong Kong, according to the Pentagon. Separately, Senate Democrats are pressing for votes on China chip export bills as Xi arrives in Washington, a reminder that friendly language at the dinner table sits alongside unresolved disputes.
Trump's warmer language on China tracks with a broader softening in his rhetoric since the trade ceasefire and Xi's arrival, but it remains rhetoric without concrete trade concessions attached. Markets have already priced in the diplomatic thaw and the temporary truce running through early November. Whether there is room for more depends on what comes out of the state dinner and Xi's National Archives visit, including any progress on market access for farmers or a broader trade deal, which Treasury Secretary Bessent has said the U.S. is open to discussing. Nothing announced so far goes beyond that.