The White House issued its fact sheet on President Xi Jinping’s state visit late on Sept. 25, after Xi had left Washington. It is the fullest official U.S. statement of what the two governments agreed. Perhaps the most encouraging part is near the end, when the two leaders agree to attend each other’s summits: APEC in China in November and the G20 in the U.S. in December.
On security, the two countries “agreed to build a constructive relationship of strategic stability on the basis of respect, fairness, and reciprocity.” The two leaders “discussed on-going global concerns, including Russia, North Korea, and Iran,” and “agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and that no country or institution can be allowed to impose tolls on international waterways.” They “recalled that United States and China were allies in World War II and fought side by side to win the war.” And: “The President advocated for trilateral arms control negotiations between the United States, Russia, and China.” The sheet does not record a Chinese response on that point; Beijing has long held that Washington and Moscow, which hold roughly nine-tenths of the world’s nuclear warheads, should reduce first. The sheet also states that “the United States’ forward military presence has preserved a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” Taiwan is not mentioned.
On artificial intelligence, “the two leaders agreed to use the term ‘super intelligence’ rather than ‘artificial intelligence’ to describe the applicable emerging technologies.” They “established the U.S.-China Super Intelligence (SI) Dialogue to exchange views on risks and benefits related to SI,” with “the next exchange” to “occur by November 2026,” and “agreed to establish a bilateral communication channel for SI incidents.”
On trade, the leaders “operationalized” the U.S.-China Board of Trade and Board of Investment, which were “chartered during the May 2026 Summit in Beijing.” The Board of Trade “reached consensus on recommendations for more favorable tariff treatment for $30 billion of non-sensitive goods in each direction”: for U.S. exports, “agricultural goods, fish and seafood, logs and wood products, cosmetics and medical devices”; for imports from China, “small appliances, toys, holiday decorations, and children’s car seats.” China “will import at least 10 million metric tons of coal from the United States in 2027 and again 2028.” Trump “urged President Xi to increase production of refined petroleum products to stabilize global supply.” On rare earths, the two sides “continue to work on U.S. concerns regarding supply chain shortages,” with “the goal of ensuring shipment levels return to appropriate levels.” On fentanyl, the U.S. “welcomed China’s scheduling of orphines, a class of deadly drugs,” noted that China arrested 21 of its citizens in August for supplying precursor chemicals, and “strongly encouraged maximum sentences, including the death penalty where applicable.”
The two leaders intend to attend each other’s summits, APEC in Shenzhen in November and the G20 in Miami in December. China is leasing two giant pandas to the Atlanta Zoo. The two-month extension of the trade truce, to Jan. 10, was announced separately by Treasury Secretary Bessent and does not appear in the sheet. Nor do the military-to-military channels or Xi’s invitation to 100,000 young Americans, both reported during the visit.
