Trump set to greet Xi for high-stakes state visit

China's President Xi Jinping and President Trump arrive to attend a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in May. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

BEIJING/WASHINGTON — Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to arrive in the United States on Wednesday evening for his first state visit in 11 years, opening high-stakes talks with President Trump at a pivotal moment for both men.

It is the second time the leaders are meeting this year after the Beijing summit in May, when they agreed to build a more stable bilateral relationship.

Both leaders are trying to shore up power at home. For Trump, the visit comes just over a month before the midterm elections, and for Xi, preparations for an all-important Party Congress start when he returns to Beijing.

But despite both countries projecting a willingness to build what China has dubbed a relationship of "constructive strategic stability," fierce negotiations over weighty subjects such as AI and trade are underway.

"Under the water, the Chinese seem to have done a lot of kicking lately. And you know, if we have to, we'll kick back," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Fox News interview in July.

Trump has frequently spoken warmly about how he was treated during his recent visit to China, which included pageantry and a state banquet at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

One of the banquet attendees, Wu Xinbo, who directs the American Studies center at Shanghai's Fudan University, said it was the warmest he had seen in the U.S.-China relations in years.