Xi’s plane will touch down at Joint Base Andrews just outside the capital on Wednesday, where President Donald Trump will greet the Chinese leader—a departure from the usual practice of meeting foreign heads of state at the White House.
The centerpiece of the visit will be Thursday’s indoor arrival ceremony on the State Floor of the White House, followed by a joint review of troops in the Rose Garden before the two leaders retreat to closed‑door discussions.
First Lady Melania Trump and Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan, will host a separate engagement while their spouses conduct the diplomatic talks.
That evening, Trump and Melania will host a state dinner in the East Room, with Xi and Peng as guests of honor. The guest list includes a roster of Silicon Valley luminaries such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Dell CEO Michael Dell, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Citigroup chief Jane Fraser and former Apple CEO Tim Cook.
The following Friday, the Trumps will invite Xi and Peng for a private tea and a tour of the National Archives, timed to coincide with the United States’ 250th‑anniversary celebrations, after which Xi will return to Joint Base Andrews.
On the substantive side, senior U.S. officials say the talks may explore modest tariff reductions on a narrow band of non‑strategic goods, but they do not expect any easing of U.S. export controls on rare‑earth minerals. Treasury Secretary Bessent is slated to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York over the weekend to discuss artificial‑intelligence cooperation and rare‑earth supply issues, with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer joining the delegation.
Xi’s visit follows his May trip to the United States and marks the first state visit by a Chinese leader since President Barack Obama welcomed him in September 2015, underscoring the diplomatic significance of the upcoming talks.