President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are sitting down Thursday for high-stakes talks at the White House, with trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and Iran among the major issues hanging over the meeting.
Xi’s visit marks his first state visit to the United States in more than a decade and comes just four months after Trump traveled to Beijing. The two leaders managed to ease some tensions during their May meeting, but many of the most difficult issues dividing Washington and Beijing remain unresolved.
The latest meeting comes with at least one piece of progress already in hand: The U.S. and China agreed Wednesday to extend their fragile trade truce for two months. But whether Trump and Xi can turn the elaborate state visit into broader agreements remains an open question.
Here are five questions to watch as the two leaders meet.
Will Trump and Xi agree to an AI hotline?
Artificial intelligence has quickly become one of the biggest areas of competition between the United States and China, and it could also provide an unusual opportunity for cooperation.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has proposed a notification system that would allow the two countries to communicate when an AI-related incident threatens national security. The idea resembles the emergency communication channels used between Washington and Moscow during the Cold War, though exactly how such a system would operate remains unclear.
Trump confirmed Thursday morning that AI would be a major topic during his talks with Xi. At the same time, he suggested neither side is looking for sweeping changes to the current competitive landscape.
That could make a communication mechanism one of the more realistic AI agreements to emerge from the summit, even as the two countries continue battling for technological dominance.
Can they make progress on a broader trade deal?
Trade remains one of the biggest tests of the relationship.
The temporary truce has prevented Washington and Beijing from returning to the kind of escalating tariff fight that previously rattled markets and disrupted trade. The latest two-month extension gives negotiators more time, but it does not resolve the underlying disputes between the world’s two largest economies.
China has continued to run a powerful export economy despite U.S. efforts to reduce dependence on Chinese products. Meanwhile, agriculture, rare earth minerals, tariffs and technology restrictions remain potential bargaining points.
The question now is whether Trump and Xi are prepared to move beyond temporary extensions and begin laying the groundwork for a longer-term agreement.
Will Trump pressure China over Iran?
Iran could provide another difficult test.
Trump wants China to use its influence with Tehran as the conflict involving Iran remains unresolved. China has extensive economic ties with Iran and is an important destination for Iranian oil, making Beijing one of the countries Washington sees as potentially having leverage over Tehran.
But convincing Xi to significantly change China’s relationship with Iran could be difficult. Beijing has resisted U.S. pressure over its economic ties and has shown little willingness to align its foreign policy with Washington’s demands.
Trump could nevertheless use Thursday’s meeting to press Xi directly and determine whether China is willing to play a larger diplomatic role.
Will Trump change course on Taiwan arms sales?
Taiwan may be the most sensitive issue on the table.
China claims Taiwan as its territory and has repeatedly pushed Washington to reduce military support for the self-governing island. The United States, meanwhile, has long supplied Taiwan with weapons while maintaining ambiguity over how directly it would respond to a Chinese attack.
The Trump administration has delayed a roughly $14 billion arms package for Taiwan, and Beijing is expected to push Trump to go further by reducing U.S. military support.
That puts Trump in the middle of competing pressures. China wants fewer U.S. weapons flowing to Taiwan, while lawmakers in Washington have urged the administration to maintain American support.
Any language from Trump suggesting a change in U.S. policy could therefore receive as much attention as any formal agreement reached during the summit.
Can Trump secure the release of detainees?
Families of people detained by China are also watching closely.
Trump has previously raised individual detention cases with Xi. During their May meeting, he brought up the case of pastor Ezra Jin, who was released weeks later. The administration has also been urged to raise other Americans held in China.
Among the highest-profile cases is Jimmy Lai, the British pro-democracy activist imprisoned in Hong Kong under national security charges. Trump pledged during his 2024 presidential campaign to seek Lai’s release but acknowledged after the May summit that Beijing had resisted his efforts.
Whether Xi is willing to make concessions involving Lai or other detainees remains uncertain.
For all the ceremony surrounding Xi’s visit, Thursday’s meeting is ultimately about whether Washington and Beijing can manage a relationship defined by both deep economic ties and growing strategic competition. A sweeping breakthrough may be difficult, but agreements on trade, AI safeguards or individual detainees could provide clues about where the relationship goes next.
