Trump Plans to Greet Xi at Airport Ahead of Washington Visit

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in Washington next week. ( Photo credit: The White House/ Wikimedia commons

 WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to personally welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews when Xi arrives in the Washington area next week for a White House visit, according to a senior U.S. official.

The planned airport reception would be an unusual gesture, as U.S. presidents generally receive visiting foreign leaders at the White House rather than meeting them at the airport.

Xi is expected to arrive in the Washington area on September 23, ahead of a meeting with Trump scheduled for September 24. The visit will include a formal program at the White House, including an arrival ceremony, a military review in the Rose Garden and a state dinner.

Trade and Technology Expected to Feature

Xi Jinping’s upcoming Washington visit will include formal White House events and talks with Trump. ( Photo credit: SilverJapan2006/ Wikipedia commans

The Trump-Xi meeting comes as the world’s two largest economies continue to negotiate over trade and other economic issues.

Officials said discussions during the visit are expected to cover trade, supplies of rare-earth minerals and artificial intelligence. Other issues between Washington and Beijing are also expected to feature in the broader talks

The two governments have been seeking to manage disagreements over tariffs, technology restrictions and critical mineral supplies while maintaining economic ties.

Tech Leaders Expected at State Dinner

A number of major technology executives are expected to attend the state dinner accompanying Xi’s visit.

Officials said the guest list is expected to include Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Apple’s Tim Cook, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Dell Technologies’ Michael Dell.

The presence of leading technology executives comes as artificial intelligence and advanced technology remain important areas in U.S.-China economic relations.

A High-Level U.S.-China Meeting

The visit will provide Trump and Xi with another opportunity to discuss areas of cooperation as well as continuing differences between Washington and Beijing.

The leaders are also expected to address broader economic and strategic issues affecting relations between the two countries. Reuters reported that the September 24 meeting will be the second Trump-Xi summit of the year.

The planned airport welcome will precede the formal White House events and is set to be one of the notable moments of Xi’s upcoming U.S. visit.