Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-19 · by Darlene Superville The Associated Press
The first state visit by the leader of China in more than a decade takes place next week when President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington for high-stakes talks — and a little schmoozing — at the White House with President Donald Trump.
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Jinping → take → Trump
When Xi’s plan lands at Joint Base Andrews just outside Washington on Wednesday, Trump will be there to welcome Xi for the state visit, senior administration officials told reporters.
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officials → land → reporters
That’s unusual — Trump typically meets foreign leaders at the White House.
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Trump → ’ → House
The heart of the visit comes Thursday when Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcome Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at an arrival ceremony held indoors on the State Floor of the White House.
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Trump → come → House
Trump and Xi will also participate in a review of troops in the Rose Garden before they retreat behind closed doors for their talks.
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they → participate → talks
The first lady and Peng Liyuan will hold a separate engagement while their spouses get down to business.
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spouses → hold → business
Details were not released during a call the officials held Friday to brief reporters on Xi’s visit.
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officials → release → visit
Xi and his wife will also be the guests of honor Thursday as Trump and the first lady host the Chinese delegation for a state dinner in the East Room.
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Trump → host → Room
Trump described the dinner as an event everyone wants to attend.
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everyone → describe → event
Both leaders will deliver remarks.
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leaders → deliver → remarks
“Thousands of people would love to be at that dinner,” Trump told reporters Friday in the Oval Office.
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Trump → love → Office
He appeared to lament that the 1,000-person ballroom he is adding onto the White House will not be available for the soiree because it is still under construction.
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it → appear → construction
“I’ve told a lot of very good friends of mine, ‘you just can’t come,’” Trump said.
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Trump → tell → mine
White House shares some names on the state dinner guest list
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House → share → list
But some of the Republican president’s tech industry friends have been invited.
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some → invite → friends
Among the executives scheduled to attend the state dinner are Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai of Google and Michael Dell, the CEO of Dell Technologies, the White House said.
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House → schedule → Technologies
Also on the guest list are Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Jane Fraser, the CEO of Citigroup, and Tim Cook, who recently stepped down as the CEO of Apple.
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who → step → Apple
Next Friday, Xi and Peng Liyuan are scheduled to return to the White House for a private tea with the Trumps, who will then take them on a tour of the National Archives, the home of some of the United States’ most important founding documents as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary.
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nation → schedule → anniversary
Xi will head for Joint Base Andrews after the tour.
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Xi → head → tour
As for other substantive parts of the visit, U.S. officials said Washington and Beijing may be ready to ease some tariffs on some nonstrategic goods.
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Washington → say → goods
Discussing the visit during a call with reporters, senior U.S. officials said such a move might affect a narrow band of goods that would advantage both sides.
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that → discuss → sides
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, did not elaborate.
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who → speak → House
But they said they did not expect the United States would be ready to ease export controls to allow for a greater flow of rare earth minerals, critical components in a wide range of products, into the global market.
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States → say → market
The officials said China maintaining an acceptable flow of such minerals would be discussed, but there was unlikely to be an exchange involving reduced U.S. export controls.
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China → say → controls
Separately, Treasury Secretary Bessent will meet over the weekend in New York with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to discuss a range of economic issues, according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details publicly.
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they → meet → details
Artificial intelligence will be a focus of the talks, the person said.
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person → say → talks
In Beijing, China’s commerce ministry announced that He would lead a delegation to the U.S. from Saturday to Wednesday for economic and trade consultations.
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He → announce → consultations
Beijing has used its near-monopoly on the minerals to bring the United States to the negotiating table in a trade war started by Trump’s tariffs and other sanctions on China.
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Beijing → use → China
The talks might continue at the working level into Monday, the person said.
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person → continue → Monday
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will join Bessent on Sunday for the meeting with He, Greer’s office announced Friday evening.
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office → join → He
Trump visited China in May, as well as in his first term, for talks with Xi, who rolled out the red carpet for his American counterpart.
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who → visit → counterpart
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Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim, Will Weissert, Paul Wiseman and Ken Moritsugu contributed to this report.
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Kim → contribute → report
The Aporia
