Donald Trump hosts Xi Jinping for AI-focused two-day summit starting September 23

President Donald Trump will welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington on September 23 for a two-day summit that puts artificial intelligence at the center of US-China diplomacy. Xi is expected to arrive at Joint Base Andrews, with a state dinner planned for September 24 that reads like a who’s-who of Silicon Valley power brokers. The guest list for that dinner includes Sam Altman of OpenAI, Jensen Huang of Nvidia, and Tim Cook of Apple. What’s actually on the table The summit agenda spans AI safety, trade tariffs, rare earth mineral supplies, and technology export controls. Trump and Xi previously met in Beijing on May 14-15, 2026. AI came up during those discussions, but the two sides walked away without any formal agreements. Chip export controls, one of the most contentious issues in the bilateral relationship, weren’t even discussed. This time around, preparatory talks have been led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. The two have been working to weave AI discussions into broader economic negotiations. One important guardrail has already been set. US officials have signaled they will not trade relaxed AI export controls for Chines...