Trump's summits with Xi Jinping, from South Korea and Beijing to Washington

Active · last development Sep 29, 2026: “Triumph or Procrastination? Experts Split on the Trump-Xi Summit”

What this arc covers

Donald Trump's meetings with China's Xi Jinping: the talk of a 2025 meeting, their October 2025 summit in South Korea to roll back trade tensions during Trump's Asia trip, their calls on trade, Taiwan, Ukraine and Iran, Trump's visit to Beijing, postponed by the Iran war and held in May 2026, and Xi's state visit to Washington in September 2026, with its trade talks, the extension of the trade truce, their talks on artificial intelligence, and Xi's gifts of two giant pandas and 100,000 student visas.

South Korea

Earliest story we hold Jul 11, 2025 · 41 stories · 205 independent sources (counted once each) · 445 days

Part ofPeople's Republic of ChinaDonald TrumpXi JinpingBeijingTrump-Xi SummitIranScott BessentTaiwan

Part of Trump and China

  1. Trump's tariff war with China and the truces that followedJan 22, 2025 – Sep 25, 2026
  2. Trump's summits with Xi Jinping, from South Korea and Beijing to WashingtonThis arcJul 11, 2025 – Sep 29, 2026

Where it standsnewest first · each bar runs left to right by leaning

Sep 29– Oct 12026Triumph or Procrastination? Experts Split on the Trump-Xi Summit6 articles · 6 independent sources
1 left, 1 center, 4 right
Sep 27– 292026US officials deny there are plans to sell weapons to China69 articles · 45 independent sources
8 left, 11 center, 6 right
Sep 26– 272026China and the US agree to set up a new AI safety channel, and to keep talking on trade, military28 articles · 26 independent sources
1 left, 7 center, 1 right

Key momentsthe most covered; every story is below

  1. Oct 27 – 30, 2025Trump and China's Xi are meeting in South Korea to try to roll back months of trade tensions70 articles · 40 independent sources
  2. May 11 – 14, 2026Xi tells Trump Taiwan issue could spark conflict at Beijing summit45 articles · 29 independent sources
    1. May 11, 2026Taiwan to be key issue at Trump's high-stakes summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping
    2. May 14, 2026China's Xi warns Trump that differences over Taiwan could lead to conflict
  3. May 13 – 15, 2026Trump China visit live: US president says a lot of problems ‘settled’, as he meets with Xi on final day of summit118 articles · 40 independent sources
  4. Sep 16 – 23, 2026Xi heads into Trump visit after making China into a global force since 2015109 articles · 45 independent sources
    1. Sep 20, 2026US, China open high-level talks ahead of Trump-Xi summit
    2. Sep 20, 2026Only center coverage:AI fears burst onto Trump-Xi agenda, but challenges abound
    3. Sep 21, 2026As China and U.S. compete for AI dominance, both have shared concerns over safety
    4. Sep 23, 2026China's Xi will kick off his state visit to Washington with a rare planeside welcome from Trump
    5. Sep 23, 2026Only lean-left coverage:AI, trade, Taiwan and climate: what will and won’t be on agenda at Trump-Xi summit
  5. Sep 22 – 27, 2026Xi wraps up visit to Washington243 articles · 72 independent sources
    1. Sep 23, 2026Trump welcomes Xi to US
    2. Sep 24, 2026AI, trade, Iran and Taiwan top agenda at Trump-Xi summit
    3. Sep 25, 2026Trump hosts Xi Jinping for lavish state banquet at White House
    4. Sep 25, 2026Trump-Xi summit ends with tea and tour but little visible policy progress
    5. Sep 26, 2026Only lean-left coverage:5 takeaways from Trump-Xi summit
  6. Sep 24 – 28, 2026Giant pandas arrive in Atlanta after Trump-Xi meeting85 articles · 45 independent sources
    1. Sep 24, 2026Xi says 2 giant pandas from China will arrive at Atlanta's zoo in the coming days
    2. Sep 26, 2026Two giant pandas on loan from China arrive at Zoo Atlanta for 10-year stay
  7. Sep 27 – 29, 2026US officials deny there are plans to sell weapons to China69 articles · 45 independent sources

Who covered it, over timeindependent sources per week, by side

Jul 2025Oct 2025Jan 2026Mar 2026Jun 2026Sep 2026

LeftCenterRight

Point at or tap a week to see its count by side.

Every week as a table
Week ofLeftCenterRightArticles
Jul 7, 20251118
Sep 15, 20250427
Oct 20, 202538222
Oct 27, 20251215973
Nov 24, 202546627
Feb 2, 20260216
Mar 16, 202635627
Mar 23, 202604312
May 11, 202611268177
Sep 14, 202627543
Sep 21, 2026328421534
Sep 28, 20261015893

Stories before June 28, 2026 come from archived pages, so who covered them is limited to the outlets we recovered for that period.

23% left · 62% center · 15% right of 205 independent sources among the outlets we track, across 41 stories.

Every storyoldest first

  1. July 2025

    Jul 11‘High probability’ Trump and Xi will meet this year, Rubio says8 articles · 8 independent sources
    1 left, 1 center, 1 right

  2. September 2025

    Sep 19Trump says he and Xi will meet in South Korea in coming weeks and he'll later go to China7 articles · 6 independent sources
    0 left, 4 center, 2 right

  3. October 2025

    Oct 24– 26Trump aims to start his Asia trip with dealmaking in Malaysia before meeting with China's Xi19 articles · 13 independent sources
    2 left, 6 center, 2 right
  4. Oct 25– 27Trump’s Asia tour takes him to Japan ahead of pivotal meeting with China’s Xi18 articles · 15 independent sources
    4 left, 8 center, 2 right
  5. Oct 27– 30Trump and China's Xi are meeting in South Korea to try to roll back months of trade tensions70 articles · 40 independent sources
    9 left, 13 center, 8 right

  6. November 2025

    Nov 24Trump, Xi spoke on phone Monday to discuss trade, Taiwan and Ukraine, US and Chinese officials say13 articles · 13 independent sources
    3 left, 3 center, 1 right
  7. Nov 24– 25Trump says he will visit Beijing in April and host China’s Xi for a state visit later next year14 articles · 14 independent sources
    1 left, 3 center, 5 right

  8. February 2026

  9. March 2026

    Mar 16– 18Trump postpones his China trip to focus on the war in Iran30 articles · 21 independent sources
    3 left, 5 center, 6 right
  10. Mar 25Trump reschedules Iran-delayed China visit for May 14-1514 articles · 10 independent sources
    0 left, 4 center, 3 right

  11. May 2026

    May 10– 12Trump departs for Beijing for summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping32 articles · 23 independent sources
    1 left, 7 center, 4 right
  12. May 11– 14Xi tells Trump Taiwan issue could spark conflict at Beijing summit45 articles · 29 independent sources
    3 left, 10 center, 4 right
  13. May 13– 15Trump China visit live: US president says a lot of problems ‘settled’, as he meets with Xi on final day of summit118 articles · 40 independent sources
    8 left, 18 center, 7 right

  14. September 2026

    Sep 16– 23Xi heads into Trump visit after making China into a global force since 2015109 articles · 45 independent sources
    9 left, 19 center, 9 right
  15. Sep 17– 19Trump will be at the airport to greet Xi when China’s leader arrives for his US state visit4 articles · 4 independent sources
    0 left, 2 center, 0 right
  16. Sep 19– 20Oil prices are high but could be much worse. Trump has China's Xi to thank for that7 articles · 7 independent sources
    0 left, 2 center, 1 right
  17. Sep 20– 21Why Trump is rolling out the red carpet for Xi after years of slamming China14 articles · 9 independent sources
    1 left, 1 center, 0 right
  18. Sep 21Bessent: US proposes AI incident alert system in talks with China22 articles · 22 independent sources
    3 left, 6 center, 1 right
  19. Sep 21Xi rolls into Trump summit with China's trade engine roaring6 articles · 2 independent sources
    1 left, 1 center, 1 right
  20. Sep 21Stocks advance after Bessent says talks with China were successful before Trump-Xi meeting4 articles · 4 independent sources
    0 left, 1 center, 0 right
  21. Sep 21– 25U.S. and China Extend Trade Truce17 articles · 15 independent sources
    8 left, 2 center, 3 right
  22. Sep 21– 22What’s the US–China AI ‘hotline’ that Trump plans to pitch to Xi Jinping?3 articles · 3 independent sources
    1 left, 0 center, 1 right
  23. Sep 21– 24Taiwan is watching closely as Xi and Trump meet and hopes US will keep up its arms sales7 articles · 7 independent sources
    2 left, 1 center, 1 right
  24. Sep 21– 25Trump told Xi that China helping Iran is unacceptable, US ambassador says8 articles · 5 independent sources
    2 left, 0 center, 2 right
  25. Sep 22– 25Zuckerberg, Altman, other Big Tech moguls among attendees at Trump-Xi dinner12 articles · 9 independent sources
    2 left, 1 center, 1 right
  26. Sep 22Wife of detained Chinese American scientist hopes Trump brings up his case in Xi summit4 articles · 4 independent sources
    0 left, 1 center, 0 right
  27. Sep 22– 27Xi wraps up visit to Washington243 articles · 72 independent sources
    23 left, 43 center, 13 right
  28. Sep 24– 28Giant pandas arrive in Atlanta after Trump-Xi meeting85 articles · 45 independent sources
    7 left, 20 center, 5 right
  29. Sep 24– 29Trump rules out joint US-China venture to develop AI9 articles · 9 independent sources
    1 left, 4 center, 4 right
  30. Sep 24– 27China State Media Says US Shares Responsibility for Managing AI5 articles · 4 independent sources
    3 left, 1 center, 0 right
  31. Sep 24Melania Trump hosts China's first lady for an outing that is watched for diplomacy and style9 articles · 7 independent sources
    0 left, 4 center, 0 right
  32. Sep 24– 25Trump stokes anger for rolling out the red carpet for ‘one of his dictator friends’4 articles · 4 independent sources
    1 left, 1 center, 0 right
  33. Sep 24Xi comes bearing gifts: 2 giant pandas and 100,000 student visas12 articles · 5 independent sources
    0 left, 1 center, 0 right
  34. Sep 24– 25Protesters of Xi’s policies push for change in earshot of White House visit with Trump8 articles · 7 independent sources
    0 left, 3 center, 3 right
  35. Sep 25In China, the Xi-Trump summit is seen as projecting image of the country’s rise3 articles · 3 independent sources
    0 left, 1 center, 0 right
  36. Sep 25U.S.-China trade deal details coming Monday, USTR Greer says3 articles · 3 independent sources
    1 left, 0 center, 1 right
  37. Sep 25Trump excoriated over ‘special treat’ for China’s Xi: ‘Can I puke now?’3 articles · 3 independent sources
    1 left, 0 center, 0 right
  38. Sep 25– 26Trump-Xi takeaways: If there were victories, Trump's not sharing them9 articles · 2 independent sources
    1 left, 1 center, 0 right
  39. Sep 26– 27China and the US agree to set up a new AI safety channel, and to keep talking on trade, military28 articles · 26 independent sources
    1 left, 7 center, 1 right
  40. Sep 27– 29US officials deny there are plans to sell weapons to China69 articles · 45 independent sources
    8 left, 11 center, 6 right
  41. Sep 29– Oct 1Triumph or Procrastination? Experts Split on the Trump-Xi Summit6 articles · 6 independent sources
    1 left, 1 center, 4 right