President Donald Trump said Monday that he expects to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping around Sept. 24, offering the clearest indication yet of when the two leaders could hold their next face-to-face meeting.
Trump mentioned the potential visit while discussing plans to construct a new ballroom at the White House, suggesting the expanded space would be useful for hosting major foreign leaders.
“For instance, President Xi is coming here in the — toward the end of Sept. 24, I believe,” Trump said. “What we need is a big ballroom, we could hold thousands of people to see him. Everyone wants to see him.”
While the White House has not officially announced the visit, the timeline would coincide with the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York, where dozens of world leaders are expected to gather later this year.
Trump is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Sept. 22 and traditionally spends several days in New York meeting with foreign heads of state during the event. Xi has rarely attended the gathering, appearing only once since becoming China’s president in 2012, making a Washington stop during that period a plausible opportunity for bilateral talks.
Building on Earlier Talks
Trump has previously said he anticipated hosting Xi sometime in September, but Monday’s remarks marked the first time he publicly identified a specific timeframe.
The expected meeting follows a high-profile summit between the two leaders in Beijing earlier this year, where Washington and Beijing sought to stabilize relations after months of heightened tensions fueled in part by the Iran War and broader geopolitical disputes.
Since those talks, both countries have pursued efforts to improve diplomatic and economic ties, with negotiators making incremental progress on trade issues.
Major Differences Remain
Despite signs of improved engagement, significant disagreements continue to divide the world’s two largest economies.
The two governments remain at odds over Taiwan, security in the Middle East, and broader strategic competition across the Indo-Pacific. Trade also remains a central point of contention as Trump continues advancing his effort to rebuild a tariff framework to reduce American dependence on Chinese manufacturing and encouraging more domestic production.
The visit would also carry symbolic weight. A White House meeting between Trump and Xi during the same week world leaders gather for the U.N. General Assembly would place relations between the two countries at the center of international attention, even as both countries compete across economic, military, and diplomatic fronts.
For now, neither the White House nor Beijing has formally confirmed the visit, but Trump’s comments suggest preparations may already be underway for another high-level summit between the two presidents.
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