China confirms Xi's state visit to US is first in 11 years

President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to the United States this week and meet with President Donald Trump. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially confirmed the trip after several weeks of preparatory talks between the world's two largest economies.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Xi will be in the United States from September 23 to 25 at Trump's invitation. It will be his first state visit to the United States since 2015 and his first trip to the country since 2023.

Xi and Trump will meet in person for the second time in 2026. In May, the American president visited Beijing, where the sides agreed to work on so-called constructive relations of strategic stability. At that time, the White House also announced the Chinese leader's fall visit to Washington.

According to the South China Morning Post, trade, technology and artificial intelligence will be among the main topics of the new summit. Immediately before the leaders' meeting, the United States and China held another round of talks in New York at the level of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.

Following these consultations, the sides agreed to establish a separate dialogue mechanism on artificial intelligence safety. However, a final agreement on extending the trade truce has not yet been reached: Washington and Beijing have different positions on its duration and the implementation of previous agreements, in particular in the area of rare earth materials exports.

SCMP also reports, citing sources, that steps to restore military contacts between the two countries may be announced during the visit. Among the options discussed by the sides are strengthening communication channels between the militaries and a possible return to arms control talks suspended in 2024.

The confirmation of the trip also comes amid rumors on social media about alleged health problems for Xi after the BRICS summit in New Delhi. In particular, unverified claims circulated that the Chinese leader had fainted or suffered a stroke.

There is no credible confirmation of these claims. India's Ministry of External Affairs called the reports of illness of Xi and other summit participants fake and misleading. Chinese authorities have not reported any health problems for Xi, and after the summit he continued to perform public duties. The official confirmation of his three-day state visit to the US also refuted parallel speculation about a possible cancellation of the trip due to health.

Based on materials from: South China Morning Post, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC, The Indian Express