Trump and Xi Meet Ahead of State Dinner With A.I. Leaders

This is the first time a Chinese leader has made a second formal state visit to America. The last time Xi conducted a formal state visit in Washington, D.C. was at the invitation of President Obama in September 2015, three years after he succeeded as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. 

Trump and Xi first met in 2017, during Trump’s first term, at the President’s home base of Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The pair last met in May during a two-day state visit by Trump to Beijing, where the U.S. and China delegations discussed a range of topics including tariffs, rare mineral trade, as well as the Strait of Hormuz. The two leaders used the visit to announce the launch of a so-called Board of Trade intended to lower tariffs on products that aren’t considered a national security risk. In June, the Office of the United States Trade Representative asked the public to weigh in on which types of products would benefit from this new mechanism. The Administration has offered few updates on the board since then.