China's Xi heads to US for talks with Trump: state media

US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, on September 4, 2026 and China's President Xi Jinping in Bishkek on September 1, 2026. [AFP]

 China's leader Xi Jinping departed Beijing on Wednesday, bound for Washington where he will meet with US President Donald Trump, state media said.

The highly anticipated talks come as the two countries confront rising fears about increasingly capable artificial intelligence systems, and as both sides look to ease tensions on trade.

Xi "left Beijing by special plane", accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, his right-hand man Cai Qi, and foreign minister Wang Yi, among others, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Trump is due to personally meet Xi on his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, before their meetings on Thursday, according to the White House.

The US leader was greeted by China's vice president when he landed in Beijing for his state visit in May.

Xi and Peng will attend a ceremony at the White House on Thursday morning, which will include a military flyover.

The two leaders are due to hold talks and Trump is set to host Xi for a state dinner at the White House in the evening.

The visit will wrap up on Friday morning where the two presidential couples will have tea at the White House then visit the National Archives to round out the trip.

The White House said that the visit marks "a significant milestone in the relationship between the two countries."

But the meeting between the two leaders could touch on multiple points of tension, with Trump telling reporters that he will be "discussing almost everything" with Xi.

Trump's Iran war casts a long shadow, as China seeks to avoid US sanctions against countries dealing with Tehran -- despite reports that Beijing supplied Tehran with intelligence for a strike on US troops.

A trade war is of even greater concern and the world's two largest economies are still seeking to mitigate the fallout from Trump's global tariffs.

The threat of war over the island of Taiwan -- which China claims as its territory -- looms large as well.

Leverage

Analysts, however, have tempered expectations by cautioning there might not be many concrete deals announced.

Preliminary talks between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng discussed creating a communication channel for AI concerns, but released little in the way of detail.

Bessant said at the time that the two sides discussed setting up a way to communicate about AI issues called the "US-China AI dialogue."

"The US has proposed that we have a notification mechanism between the two countries," Bessent said.

The son of jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai made an appeal to Xi from Washington that his 78-year-old father be released.

Trump said in May, however, that he had discussed Lai's fate with Xi and his release was unlikely.

But Beijing did release the founder of an underground church, Ezra Jin, after Trump raised his case with Xi.

China's negotiating arsenal includes its dominance in the supply of rare earths, critical materials used for high-tech products that are vital to US manufacturers.

Beijing successfully pressured Washington to back down from its sky-high tariffs last year after imposing stringent controls on exports of rare earths.