Trump Calls Xi Talks 'Very Productive' as Washington Visit Ends
U.S. President Donald Trump called his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping "very productive" on September 25, 2026, as Xi's state visit to Washington, D.C. entered its final day. Al Jazeera
In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump wrote that "Tremendous things will be happening" after the meetings. It was Xi's first visit to the United States in more than a decade. Trump was set to take Xi to the U.S. National Archives, home to the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, before the three-day visit ended.
Protocol and pageantry
Trump hosted a large White House welcome ceremony for Xi and gave him a tour from the helipad during the visit. The state dinner on Thursday, September 24, included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Tesla chief Elon Musk, with Musk seated at the main table with Trump and Xi. First Lady Melania Trump released details of the dinner with Xi and Madame Peng Liyuan. On September 24, she and Peng visited the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, an event focused on Chinese-American art, culture and young people. Xi gave toast remarks in Washington on September 24 for President Donald J. Trump and Mrs. Melania Trump.
The schedule was tightly planned. No breakthroughs were announced. Before the meetings, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Xi would hold an in-depth exchange of views with Trump on major issues for the two countries and world affairs.
Trade, AI and Taiwan were discussed, according to U.S. descriptions of the agenda. Treasury Secretary Bessent called the trade and AI talks "very successful." On September 24, Trump wrote on Truth Social that AI would be a "big topic of discussion" in his White House meeting with Xi. AP
AI at the center
Trump said artificial intelligence, computer systems that can learn and act, was a focus of the talks and claimed Xi liked calling it "SUPER INTELLIGENCE." In the week of September 22, Trump had told the United Nations General Assembly that the United States would use the term "super intelligence" for AI in all U.S. government documents.
Xi said during the Washington visit that China and the United States should keep AI "always under human control." AP
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on September 25 that setting up clear communication channels on AI is one of the main problems Washington and Beijing are trying to solve. Greer said U.S. and Chinese officials plan to meet again on AI within the next month. Both sides planned to keep talking about AI and licenses for technology transfer, the permission process for sharing sensitive technology, after the visit.
Greer said the September talks did not include the sale of a small number of high-quality U.S.-made chips that need licenses, which he called the "crown jewels of American technology." The meetings produced no major breakthroughs on trade or AI safety. Reuters had reported on September 16 that the race for AI leadership would hang over the meeting, and reported on September 24 that the summit was heavy on symbolism but light on substance. Reuters
The broader context here is management of rivalry, not settlement of it. For specialists, the signals are procedural. A follow-up AI meeting within a month and continued talks on technology licenses set a work rhythm. That helps because U.S. and Chinese rules on exports and AI safety are very different, and regular technical contact can lower the risk of misunderstanding. The chip exclusion is also telling. Washington kept its most valuable leverage off the table while allowing other trade to move.
Backstory from the spring
The September visit followed Trump's 2026 trip to China, the first visit by a U.S. president to China since 2017. The two sides then agreed the United States and China should build a constructive relationship for strategic stability based on fairness and reciprocity, meaning equal treatment and mutual benefit. Trump agreed to host Xi in Washington in fall 2026. Both countries also agreed to support each other as hosts of the G20 and APEC summits in 2026. White House
That spring package included geopolitical understandings. Trump and Xi agreed that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. They called to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. They agreed that no country or organization can be allowed to charge tolls. They confirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea.
Trump and Xi also set up the U.S.-China Board of Trade and the U.S.-China Board of Investment. Think of them as standing working groups. The Board of Trade lets the two governments manage trade in non-sensitive goods. The Board of Investment gives officials a direct forum to discuss investment issues.
China agreed to address U.S. concerns about supply shortages of rare earths and other critical minerals, including yttrium, scandium, neodymium and indium. It also agreed to address U.S. concerns about bans or limits on the sale of rare earth production and processing equipment and technologies.
China approved an initial purchase of 200 American-made Boeing aircraft for Chinese airlines. That was China's first commitment to buy American-made Boeing aircraft since 2017. China agreed to buy at least $17 billion per year of U.S. farm products in 2026 (prorated), 2027 and 2028, in addition to soybean purchase commitments made in October 2025. China restored market access for U.S. beef by renewing expired listings of more than 400 U.S. beef facilities and adding new listings, agreed to work with U.S. regulators to lift all suspensions of U.S. beef facilities, and resumed imports of poultry from U.S. states found by the USDA to be free of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Looking at what this means for the next phase, the September summit carries out the fall visit promised in the spring. The test now is whether the boards and purchase promises can work while AI safety and licensing remain unsolved. The summit was also expected to cover trade, investment, AI, the war with Iran, and Taiwan. Progress can be judged by two markers: whether the promised AI meeting happens on time and whether licensing talks produce written terms.
