Trump, Xi Meet Sept. 23-25 to Extend Trade Truce as AI and Iran Rise

3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Sep 21

Xi Jinping will visit Washington from Wednesday to Friday for talks expected to extend a U.S.-China trade truce that expires in November, though officials and analysts see little chance of a broader breakthrough.
The truce rests on last fall’s one-year suspension of rare-earth export curbs and retaliatory tariffs, while China has already bought nearly half of its pledged 25 million tons of U.S. soybeans this year.
AI has climbed sharply up the agenda, with U.S. officials pushing a proposed U.S.-China AI dialogue and an incident-notification system while seeking assurances China will not enable malicious actors.
Iran is also expected to overshadow Taiwan, as Washington presses Beijing not to aid Tehran and to use its ties with Iran to support ceasefire or broader de-escalation efforts.
The summit is the latest bid to stabilize ties after a May reset, but weak Chinese demand, U.S. reliance on Chinese supply chains and unresolved rare-earth leverage still limit how much can change.