US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will visit China “at some point” this year sets the stage for an unusually frequent series of face-to-face meetings between the American and Chinese leaders – potentially up to four encounters in 2026.The two leaders have already met once this year for a summit in Beijing and Xi is expected to travel to the United States in September for a state visit and again in December for the Group of 20 meeting.Unveiling a new US presidential plane on Friday, Trump indicated he would return to China for “a big conference”, presumably the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit scheduled for November 18-19 in Shenzhen.
“President Xi is coming here in September, but we’re going back for a big conference that’s in China,” Trump said at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
‘A milestone visit’: Xi and Trump set sights on stability for China-US relations
Trump has tended to skip Apec gatherings but if he does attend this time, he would become the first sitting US president to visit Shenzhen, China’s technological powerhouse.
