US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will visit China “at some point” this year sets the stage for an unusually frequent series of face-to-face meetings between the American and Chinese leaders – potentially up to four encounters in 2026.
The two leaders have already met once this year for a summit in Beijing and Xi is expected to travel to the United States in September for a state visit and again in December for the Group of 20 meeting.
Unveiling a new US presidential plane on Friday, Trump indicated he would return to China for “a big conference”, presumably the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit scheduled for November 18-19 in Shenzhen.
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“President Xi is coming here in September, but we’re going back for a big conference that’s in China,” Trump said at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Trump has tended to skip Apec gatherings but if he does attend this time, he would become the first sitting US president to visit Shenzhen, China’s technological powerhouse.
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