U.S. President Trump to host Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington

US President Donald Trump will host Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington this week, and everything from artificial intelligence to trade to Taiwan will be on the agenda of the two global powers.

It is expected that when Xi Jinping arrives at Andrews Air Force Base on Wednesday, he will be personally greeted by Trump; on Thursday, a welcome ceremony will be held at the White House, including a military aircraft flyover and a review attended by nearly 500 military personnel.

This is Xi Jinping's first visit to the United States in more than a decade and the third meeting between the two since Trump began his second presidential term.

What makes this high-profile state visit even more tense is that the trade agreement reached by the United States and China last year will expire in November.

The trade truce, agreed in October 2025 when Trump and Xi met in South Korea, included Washington suspending steep tariffs on Chinese goods while Beijing eased export restrictions on rare earths critical to manufacturing.

Experts say they will be watching to see whether both sides make some kind of statement about extending the agreement during the state visit.

Xi Jinping's trip to Washington, D.C., will end on Friday with pomp and ceremony, including lavish dinners, private visits and theatrical performances.

David Sacks, an Asia studies fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, described Trump's planned grand welcome as "truly unprecedented."

"From personally greeting Xi Jinping at Andrews Air Force Base to arranging military flyovers for Xi Jinping, this is treatment that no U.S. ally has ever received," Sacks said, "let alone an adversary like China."

"This is really surprising," he continued.

Trump is expected to raise a number of issues when meeting with Xi Jinping, especially tariffs and trade issues.

The US president has long criticized his country's trade deficit with China. The deficit now exceeds $91 billion (£68.2 billion), according to the latest figures from the US Census Bureau.

Moreover, despite the October deal, China’s exports of rare earths to the United States have continued to decline.

U.S. and Chinese officials held trade talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday but failed to make substantive progress ahead of Xi Jinping's visit, multiple sources told the BBC.

According to sources familiar with the White House thinking, the talks will focus on finding consensus around non-tariff trade issues and agricultural exports.

U.S. negotiators are expected to continue consultations with Chinese representatives in Washington after Xi Jinping arrives on Wednesday.

Another possible topic between Trump and Xi Jinping is artificial intelligence. David Firestein of the Bush China Foundation said the issue had "rapidly climbed to the top of the agenda" in the run-up to the visit.

China and the United States are engaged in what has been described as an "artificial intelligence arms race." However, a series of recent high-profile security incidents involving this emerging technology have put the Trump administration under increasing pressure to regulate artificial intelligence and slow down its development.

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Trump's former White House adviser Steve Bannon and some Republican members of Congress have also warned of the dangers of artificial intelligence.

The president regards artificial intelligence technology as the lifeblood of the US economy and a battlefield for global power competition, so he has been reluctant to apply the brakes.

He sees beating China in the artificial intelligence race as his primary goal. "Whoever wins artificial intelligence wins everything," Trump once said.

Fang Dawei told the BBC that he expected Trump and Xi Jinping to discuss ways for the two sides to cooperate in the field of artificial intelligence.

On Sunday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and said the two sides had "very successful" talks on trade and artificial intelligence.

Experts interviewed by the BBC said that during the multiple "Xi-Trump meetings" scheduled this week, the two sides are unlikely to make major breakthroughs in artificial intelligence or other issues.

Then there's the Taiwan issue - always an ongoing diplomatic nuisance.

The U.S. Congress has approved a multi-billion-dollar arms sales package to Taiwan, which is now only awaiting Trump's signature. But he is holding back for now, viewing it as a bargaining chip with China.

China has long vowed to "unify" with self-governing Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force.

Fang Dawei said he expected Xi Jinping to seek a commitment from Trump to extend the time the arms sales were put on hold, or to find ways to avoid the arms sales altogether.

Like Trump, Xi faces domestic economic headwinds and is expected to use the visit to discuss ways to deepen U.S.-China trade.

But it could pose political difficulties for Trump. Some of his cabinet members and supporters are deeply suspicious of China.

"Trump has made up his mind: No matter what, we need to avoid a confrontational relationship with China," said Stephen Orlins, chairman of the National Committee on US-China Relations.