Chinese President Xi Jinping will land in Washington next week pursuing deals on trade, AI governance, and security, but analysts say his true objective lies in projecting strength to a domestic audience ahead of an upcoming political shakeup. Xi is scheduled to arrive Wednesday, Sept. 23, at a time when personnel changes are starting to take shape in the runup to next year’s national congress of the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP. The international community is paying attention to the possibility that Xi will continue as the party’s leader for…
Day: September 18, 2026
Trump, Melania to host Xi and Peng for White House ‘double date’: full schedule
Donald Trump and Melania Trump will host Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan together across two days in Washington next week: a White House welcome, a state dinner at which both presidents speak, a private tea, and a tour of the United States’ founding documents. Senior US officials set out the programme late Friday and said the pageantry will sit beside talks on artificial intelligence, a trade truce that expires in November, rare earths, fentanyl and detained foreigners. South China Morning Post
US weighs delaying Taiwan arms sales until after Apec and G20 summits
The United States is considering postponing the announcement of major arms sales to Taiwan until after November’s Apec summit in Shenzhen, multiple sources told the South China Morning Post. The potential delay comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to travel to Washington next week for a state visit. The sources said there was a strong possibility US President Donald Trump could extend the delay through to the end of the year, pointing to a planned bilateral meeting between the two leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and Xi’s…
Trump signs bill targeting China’s Russia energy imports days before Xi’s US visit
US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a new sanctions bill into law that targets Russia’s leading energy buyers – China and India – just days before Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington for a state visit. The White House issued a brief statement, saying that the President had “signed into law” the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,” which “authorises and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran.” The US House of Representatives passed the bill by…
Trump says Xi state dinner is ‘a very tough ticket’ as business guest list takes shape
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had turned away friends hoping to attend next week’s state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, as reports emerged that executives from some of China’s biggest companies could join the visit. “This is a very tough ticket for me,” Trump told reporters. “I’ve told a lot of very good friends of mine, you just can’t come.” The president said the White House had room for “about 125 or so people”, although thousands would like to attend. He lamented that its planned…
Word to the wise on organising a Chinese leader’s US visit
Let me begin by wishing those planning Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the US on September 24 the best of luck, something I didn’t have in 2006, when president George W. Bush invited president Hu Jintao to the White House. After you read this, you may wonder how I was able to keep my job. All I can say is, Bush was a very forgiving boss. This story begins in January 2006. I had just been elevated from China director to acting special assistant to the president and…
Trump claims US Greenland security deal, China reportedly among adversaries being kept out
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States had reached an agreement with Denmark and Greenland that gives Washington permanent authority over security on the Arctic island and requires American approval for military activity or sensitive investment by US adversaries. In a Truth Social post, Trump described the arrangement as giving the US “permanent control over security, and all other needs” in Greenland. He said no US adversary could establish a base, maintain a military presence, or make sensitive investments there without Washington’s express written approval. The…
Trump Courts North Korea’s Leader, but Might Need China to Reignite the Flame
The overtures from President Trump to one of his favorite dictators came hot and heavy over the summer. In June, Mr. Trump posted a photo of himself strolling through the tropical grounds of a luxury hotel with Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, during their historic summit in Singapore eight years ago. Weeks later, he wrote online that the two had a “very good relationship.” In that post, Mr. Trump announced that the American military would dial back exercises with South Korea, shocking the close U.S. ally and handing…
Shipki La and the Battle Over the History of China-India Trade
After a six-year hiatus, the China-India border trade via Shipki Pass, a 3,930-meter pass in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, resumed on August 1, 2026. After the 2020 Galwan military standoff, the border trade from this pass, often called the “Gateway to Tibet,” was suspended. With limited operations and economic scope but significant political symbolism, the resumption of border trade has also rejuvenated interest in the competing legitimacy narratives over the Tibet question. According to China’s state-affiliated think tanks and media, border trade via the Shipki L Pass dates to the…
VW warns of hit of up to €10bn from Porsche writedown and restructuring costs
Shares in Europe’s largest carmaker fell as much as 7% as it continues to struggle in the competitive Chinese market Financial Times