Geopolitics · Thursday, 17 September 2026
Trump and Xi set for September 24 Washington summit as trade negotiators meet September 20
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are due to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on 20 September for final talks ahead of a September 24 summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington, their second meeting of 2026 and third in the past year, after May's Beijing summit. The talks build on the reciprocal tariff cuts on $30 billion of goods each that Washington and Beijing have been negotiating since early September, and aim to extend a trade truce reached in October 2025 that is due to expire on 10 November. They will also cover artificial intelligence safety, building on an intergovernmental AI dialogue agreed in Beijing.