The two will discuss pressing issues in a closed-door meeting, involving decisions that will be consequential for decades to come, Trump said.
(L–R) Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump, and First Lady Melania Trump stand on the Blue Room balcony of the White House to watch an exhibition of the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon in Washington on Sept. 24, 2026. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images
WASHINGTON—Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived for his first White House meeting in more than a decade amid protests over his regime’s human rights abuses.
U.S. President Donald Trump, meeting Xi for the second time in the year, said the two countries have been working to bring about a more balanced trade relationship.
The two will discuss pressing issues—from artificial intelligence to technology and security—in a closed-door meeting, involving decisions that will be consequential for decades to come, Trump said in the opening speech. He said in an earlier social media post that there’s no plan for new AI guardrails with China.
While Trump touted their “truly great friendship,” Xi put greater emphasis on geopolitics, such as Chinese companies’ U.S. access.
Xi also touted a new student exchange program and the impending arrival of two pandas at Zoo Atlanta—both popular devices the regime uses to project soft power and improve its global image.
But there’s another side of China about which activists are seeking to remind the world.
Hours after Xi arrived in the District of Columbia, a human rights group projected the faces of Chinese political prisoners in multiple parts of the district. There are thousands of such individuals in China right now, and they should be free, the organizers said.