Xi Jinping to Meet Trump in Washington: Are China and the US Moving Towards Accord?
US President Donald Trump is scheduled to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House in a high-stakes summit. However, several political and economic observers are maintaining low expectations regarding the outcome of negotiations between the two superpowers.
According to reports, doubts persist even though the Iran war is predicted to be a primary focus of the discussions. This follows new US plans to aggressively impose additional sanctions on Iran’s business partners, which could potentially involve China as Tehran’s largest trading partner.
Similar to previous meetings in Beijing, the war in the Middle East is expected to occupy only a small portion of the talks. Both sides appear more interested in avoiding provocative measures that risk destroying their current trade truce.
Craig Singleton, Senior Director for China at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, stated that the world is measuring the targets of this meeting with low expectations. He noted that the meeting is being held primarily to ease tensions between the two nations.
“This relationship is increasingly producing transactions without trust and stability without resolution. This is a low-expectation summit largely focused on managing the deadlock rather than resolving it,” he asserted.
Although China has not yet officially confirmed Xi’s visit to Washington, scheduled for 24 September, differences in perspective between the two nations are becoming clear. At a recent G20 finance ministers’ meeting in North Carolina, China was the only country to oppose a joint statement regarding trade and the Iran war.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted that both countries share many views regarding Iran, but emphasised that it is China’s responsibility to find a solution.
Summit Agenda
The White House is reportedly planning a formal state dinner to welcome Xi. White House spokesperson Olivia Wales stated that the meeting will discuss several important agreements.
“President Trump has a strong relationship with President Xi and made an extraordinary visit to Beijing in May, where he secured important agreements that will drive high-paying jobs and open new markets for American goods. President Trump looks forward to President Xi’s historic visit to the White House in September and will always advance American interests,” she explained.
In addition to geopolitical and economic issues, Bessent also confirmed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology will be on the agenda. However, Trump’s highly centralised leadership style is feared to dampen expectations for any meaningful diplomatic breakthroughs.
The Iran War Factor
This meeting takes place in the shadow of the Iran war, which is entering its seventh month. US efforts to sever financial access for parties empowering Iran through secondary sanctions, including threats against China, could have significant impacts. Targeting Chinese banks or institutions with sanctions could trigger retaliatory responses that threaten trade relations and US access to critical mineral supplies.
Taiyi Sun, Associate Professor of Political Science at Christopher Newport University, believes this situation creates a paradox for Washington.
“Every stronger choice creates a problem for China. The country with the greatest potential economic influence over Tehran is also the country that Washington is least able to isolate before the September summit,” he said.
Sun also doubted that the ‘Economic Isolation Operation’ policy would be fully implemented to avoid chaos in the global financial system. He predicted that the Trump administration would prefer to negotiate privately with China, especially with mid-term elections approaching. Singleton agreed with this prediction.
“Iran may emerge, but I expect it will only occupy a small part of the conversation. The threshold for the Treasury Department to take major action against Chinese banks before the summit is very high,” he concluded.