Xi Jinping Lands in Washington, Truce Extended to January

Chinese President Xi Jinping landed Wednesday evening, September 23, at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, where he was personally greeted by US President Donald Trump, the first time in 11 years that an American president has met a foreign leader on the tarmac in person. For Serbia, where Chinese companies have in recent years become one of the largest single investors in mining and industry, any shift in relations between Washington and Beijing, from tariffs to export restrictions, directly affects the climate in which those investments unfold across the region.

The arrival came alongside news that the trade truce between the world’s two largest economies had been extended. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced, speaking to Fox News as Trump welcomed Xi at Andrews, that he and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng had agreed to extend what is known as the Busan agreement.

“We agreed today to extend what we call the Busan agreement,” Bessent said.

The truce had been set to expire on November 10, 2026, and now runs until January 10, 2027. Under it, the two countries agreed to lower tariffs and refrain from imposing new trade restrictions. Bessent added that he was not certain whether a broader deal could be reached.

“I don’t know if a bigger deal can be reached. I don’t know if we’ll just extend the existing deal,” Bessent said, adding that the extension to January 10 gives leaders more time to work through disputed issues at upcoming summits, in China in November and in Florida in December.

A Welcome Washington Hasn’t Given in 11 Years

A red carpet about 30 meters long was rolled out on the tarmac for Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan, flanked by an honor guard of 21 service members. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greeted the Chinese couple with handshakes as a military band played both countries’ anthems and a B-1 bomber flew overhead.

“The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the great rejuvenation of America can go hand in hand, complement each other and benefit the whole world,” Xi Jinping said in a written statement on his arrival, carried by the state news agency Xinhua.

This is the first state visit by a Chinese president to the United States since 2015, and the visit runs for three days. Trump made a state visit to Beijing in May 2026, where Xi hosted him.

First Lady Melania Trump’s office said ahead of the visit that the Chinese couple’s arrival comes more than a decade after their last one.

“This visit comes more than a decade after President Xi and Madame Peng’s last visit to the White House, marking a significant milestone in the relationship between our two countries,” the First Lady’s office said in a statement.

What Does the Extended Truce Cover?

The truce, agreed last fall, has so far kept the US and China from raising tariffs on each other again or imposing new export restrictions. The extension from November to January gives negotiators two more months, and whether the deal will be broadened or simply extended in its current form has not yet been decided, according to Bessent. That leaves Washington with leverage to check how far Beijing follows through on earlier promises, chiefly on purchasing US agricultural goods and exporting critical minerals.

The White House Program, From the Oval Office to Dinner With Musk and Huang

Today, Thursday, September 24, the White House announced a formal welcome on the South Lawn, with 479 service members from across the US military and a flyover by a B-2 bomber and four F-22 fighters. The bilateral meeting between the two presidents in the Oval Office is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Washington time, followed by an expanded meeting of both delegations at noon in the Cabinet Room.

The agenda, according to announcements, includes tariffs, the US war with Iran, Taiwan, artificial intelligence and critical minerals. Also mentioned is a $14 billion US arms package for Taiwan, on which Washington has not yet made a final decision.

A formal dinner is planned for Thursday evening in the White House East Room, where Nvidia chief Jensen Huang and SpaceX owner Elon Musk are expected to attend, according to announcements. Friday’s schedule includes tea in the Red Room and a joint visit to the National Archives, where the two couples will say their goodbyes at the end of the visit.

Trump and Xi will have a chance to continue their talks after this visit: their next meeting is set for November, at a summit in China, followed by December’s G20 gathering in Florida. How stable trade relations between the two countries remain until then depends largely on how well Beijing follows through on its promises so far to buy American goods and export rare earth metals.