Chinese President 
Xi Jinping will make a state visit to the United States from September 23 to 25 at the invitation of President 
Donald Trump, Beijing announced on Monday. It will be the leaders' second summit this year, after Trump's state visit to Beijing in May. For Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, it will be their first White House visit since 2015, the Korea Times reported.
What does the programme include? Under an itinerary released by first lady Melania Trump's office, Trump will personally greet Xi at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, 479 service members from every military branch will take part in an arrival ceremony spanning the South Lawn and Rose Garden. A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and four F-22 Raptors will close the ceremony with a flyover. While the presidents hold talks, Melania Trump and Peng will tour the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art; on Friday the two couples will take tea in the Red Room before viewing documents on US-China relations at the National Archives, where the visit ends, Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
What will the leaders discuss? Trade and tariffs, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and the war in Iran are among the issues expected to feature. "I'll be discussing almost everything with him," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, the Korea Times reported. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said reciprocal visits within six months were "of historic, milestone significance" and that Beijing was willing to work with Washington to "strengthen dialogue and cooperation, properly manage differences".
Who is expected at the state dinner? Melania Trump will co-host the East Room dinner, where both presidents will speak, the Korea Times reported. Expected guests include Apple's Tim Cook, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Citigroup's Jane Fraser. Pfizer's Albert Bourla and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg plan to attend, and JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon is also expected, CNA reported, citing Reuters.
What is at stake? US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held preparatory talks in New York on Sunday. Those talks were aimed at teeing up possible agreements on AI guardrails and trade in non-sensitive products, Channel News Asia reported. The main focus of Thursday's meeting is whether the leaders will signal an extension to a trade truce struck last year. Trump has described a pending $14 billion arms package for Taiwan as a "negotiating chip" with Beijing.
Figures referenced: Xi Jinping, Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
