President Donald Trump personally welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews on September 23, a rare gesture marking Xi’s first state visit to the United States in 11 years. The summit’s central issue is whether to extend the U.S.-China trade truce, with China seeking more time to pursue technological self-reliance after using its rare earth supply chain as leverage in last year’s tariff conflict. Washington also wants to preserve the truce but favors a shorter extension and is pressing Beijing to buy more U.S. agricultural products and aircraft. The agenda includes artificial-intelligence communication channels and semiconductor-related issues, while disputes over trade, Taiwan and AI competition leave a deal uncertain. A formal state arrival ceremony is scheduled for September 24 with 479 troops participating. Reports that China obtained sensitive F-35 components mistakenly shipped to Hong Kong could also feature in the discussions.