Xi Jinping Arrives for Donald Trump Talks as Rare Earths Truce Hangs in Balance

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is scheduled to reach the U.S. on Wednesday evening, NPR reported, beginning his first state visit to the country in 11 years. A rare earths truce and a paused arms sale to Taiwan await him. The two-day summit with President Donald Trump opens Thursday and ends Friday, a senior administration official told Fox News.

It is the leaders' second meeting this year, after a May summit in Beijing where they agreed to build a more stable relationship, according to NPR.

Why it matters

The talks come just over a month before the midterm elections. China dominates the refining of rare earths and other critical minerals used in products from cellphones to weapons, NPR reported. Both governments say they want stability, but hard bargaining over AI, trade and Taiwan is under way.

Key points

• Xi arrives at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday evening for a summit running Thursday and Friday.
• U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said this week the two sides are still negotiating an extension of the rare earths truce.
• Taiwan, AI governance, tariff cuts and a detained American are all expected on the agenda.

Rare earths truce, tariffs and trade boards

Greer said the two countries are still negotiating a possible extension of the truce that keeps Chinese rare earth products flowing to the U.S., NPR reported. American officials say China has not kept its end of the bargain, and mutual distrust sank a Beijing offer to extend the truce through January 2029, the end of Trump's term, according to NPR.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Fox News interview in July: "Under the water, the Chinese seem to have done a lot of kicking lately. And you know, if we have to, we'll kick back."

The leaders agreed in May to create trade and investment boards, though no members have been named, NPR reported. Two people in the U.S.-China business community told NPR that China is expected to announce agricultural purchases while the U.S. announces tariff cuts on consumer goods such as footwear and apparel.

The official also told Fox News that tariff cuts on non-strategic goods, along with rare-earth exports and possible export controls, are expected discussion topics.

Taiwan and the paused $14 billion arms sale

Xi has repeatedly told Trump that Taiwan is a red line, NPR reported, and Trump later said he was not interested in a distant war. The Trump administration paused a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan this spring, and experts expect Xi to press Trump to hold that course when they meet Thursday.

As Xi departed Wednesday, China's state news agency published a State Council statement denouncing Taiwan's president, Lai Ching-te, NPR reported.

AI governance and Gulshan Abbas

AI will be a major topic, the senior administration official told Fox News. Rose Gottemoeller, a former NATO official, told NPR that China has been trying to work out with the U.S. what guardrails could be placed on artificial intelligence.

Trump is also likely to press for the release of Gulshan Abbas, an American wrongfully detained in China for eight years, Fox News reported. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans said they are confident Trump will push for her release.