VOA Today's Focus (September 22, 2026) White House Releases Details of Welcoming Xi Jinping; President Trump to First Meet Sanae Takahashi
VOA's Focus Today reported on the detailed arrangements for U.S. President Trump's upcoming reception of Chinese President Xi Jinping. President Trump will personally travel to Joint Base Andrews to welcome him, followed by a welcoming ceremony and a state dinner at the White House. The two heads of state and their spouses will also visit the U.S. National Archives together to review historical documents related to U.S.-China relations. Additionally, the day before meeting Xi Jinping, President Trump will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in New York; experts believe this move will help the U.S. and Japan coordinate their policies toward China. The report also mentioned pre-summit talks between the U.S. and China on issues such as artificial intelligence, trade, and export controls, as well as President Trump's views on U.S.-China relations, trade, AI competition, and the situation in Iran.
Video link:
Full text:
Welcome to VOA Focus Today for September 22. I am Fan Dongning, reporting live from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. Every day, we bring you a 15-minute quick grasp of the latest developments in the U.S. and around the world. Here are today's top stories.
Details of President Trump and the First Lady's welcome for Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan have been announced. Following the personal airport greeting and the White House state dinner, they will also visit the U.S. National Archives together. The day before welcoming Xi Jinping, President Trump will first meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in New York. Experts say the meeting will help coordinate the U.S.-Japan alliance and ensure the interests of Taiwan. Treasury Secretary Bessent held pre-summit talks with the Chinese delegation. Trade Representative Greer stated that while the U.S. and China discussed artificial intelligence, export controls were not on the agenda.
The White House announced the detailed arrangements for Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the U.S. on Monday. Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan will arrive in Washington on Wednesday. In an unprecedented move, President Trump will personally travel to Joint Base Andrews to welcome them. On Thursday morning, President Trump and the First Lady will hold a grand welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, which will be attended by 479 U.S. military personnel, including a military band, an honor guard, and a military demonstration. Finally, a flyover by a B-2 bomber and four F-22 fighter jets will be arranged.
After the welcoming ceremony, Melania will accompany Peng Liyuan to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. On Thursday evening, President Trump and the First Lady will host a state dinner for Xi Jinping and his wife in the East Room of the White House. On Friday, the two heads of state and their spouses will have tea in the Red Room of the White House and travel together to the National Archives to review historical documents related to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and U.S.-China relations.
The Office of the First Lady specifically emphasized that Xi Jinping's last visit to the White House was over a decade ago, and this visit marks an important milestone in the relationship between the two countries.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Greer held a full day of talks on Sunday at the JPMorgan Chase headquarters in New York with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, paving the way for the U.S.-China summit scheduled for Thursday. Treasury Secretary Bessent stated that the U.S. and China held very successful talks on issues such as artificial intelligence (AI), trade, and rare earth supplies, and both sides agreed to establish an AI dialogue mechanism. Greer said that when discussing artificial intelligence, U.S. export controls were not included on the agenda.
Voice of America interviewed Andrew Harding, a researcher on national security and Indo-Pacific affairs at the Heritage Foundation, regarding this preliminary meeting. He said: "This high-level meeting is primarily to pave the way for the summit between the two heads of state on Thursday, setting the tone and determining the outcomes of the talks. I think this meeting can also be called successful because the broader talks on Thursday are still proceeding as originally planned. From my understanding of this weekend's meeting, this should be one of the last ministerial or high-level meetings before the two top leaders, the two presidents, hold their summit. I think this meeting is important because Secretary Bessent and Vice Premier He Lifeng need to communicate to confirm what outcomes both sides expect to achieve, and also to address any final issues that need to be resolved before the summit. Therefore, this is a good way to conduct preliminary communication and establish standards and tone. We also learned that both sides seem to be considering establishing some kind of artificial intelligence notification mechanism. In addition, we also learned that export controls are not currently on the agenda. So overall, we still have to see what the final results will be on Thursday. The real substantive content will be reflected in Thursday's meeting, including what agreements both sides ultimately reach. But this meeting is mainly to ensure that both sides set standards and establish a tone. Most importantly, Thursday's meeting is still proceeding as planned."
President Trump will deliver a speech at the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow, Tuesday, and meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi before welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping. Report from New York by reporter Xu Xiangyun Jiudao.
This is Fifth Avenue in New York. President Trump will arrive here on Monday afternoon, and as a result, the New York City Police Department has increased police presence to maintain security in the vicinity. This is also the closest position reporters can currently reach to Trump Tower. On Monday afternoon, President Trump will be in New York to hold separate meetings with the Mayor of New York and French President Macron. On Tuesday, President Trump will head to the United Nations General Assembly to deliver a speech and meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. On Thursday, President Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House. VOA reporter Xu Xiangyun Jiudao reporting from New York.
President Trump will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi while attending the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. On the eve of the US-China summit, this meeting between the US and Japanese leaders has attracted much attention. US-China relations expert Bonnie Glaser pointed out that the meeting between President Trump and Sanae Takaichi could help the US and Japan strengthen coordination on China policy, especially in maintaining consistency on critical minerals and the Taiwan issue. Heritage Foundation national security and Indo-Pacific affairs researcher Harding also said in an interview with VOA that the meeting between President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi helps reaffirm to allies the importance the US places on the US-Japan alliance, while ensuring that Taiwan's interests receive attention.
Alright, let's continue to interpret the Trump administration's strategic considerations surrounding this US-China summit from the statements made by high-level US officials before the Trump-Xi meeting. Let's look at the report from VOA reporter Wang Yuhe.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is about to visit the US, and President Trump expressed his anticipation for the visit of him and his wife, Peng Liyuan. He said: "Although the US and China are in a competitive relationship, his personal relationship with Xi Jinping is very good. We are very much looking forward to it; he is an excellent gentleman, and we get along very well. We have a good trade relationship. They are competitors, and although China has been taking advantage of us for many years, we are interacting with China very well now."
President Trump stated that he will host a state dinner for Xi Jinping, and White House officials said that President Trump will personally meet Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews and hold a welcome ceremony. In terms of trade, the Trump administration once raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% this year, after which both the US and China temporarily lowered tariffs to maintain a trade truce. With Xi Jinping about to visit the US, President Trump indicated that important talks will be held in this regard. "We will have some quite important talks. You know China is paying us a lot of tariffs. You remember we once raised tariffs to 145%, but that was too high, and it really hit them hard. I don't want to do that; we get along very well."
Trump stated on September 13 that Chinese cars will continue to be kept out. In May of this year, after President Trump visited China and met with Xi Jinping, it was announced that China agreed to purchase 200 Boeing aircraft, and the total number of future orders could increase to 750. When asked about the progress of the deal on the 13th, Trump said, "We will finalize this deal; I can get every deal done."
Regarding the situation in Iran, US media recently cited officials reporting that Chinese entities might have provided satellite imagery of a US military base in Jordan to Iran. When asked about this, President Trump did not criticize China. He said: "I think he behaved quite decently, and we behaved quite decently. You know when people say China is spying on us, I would say you are right, but we are also spying on them. You know we are also monitoring them."
Regarding AI competition, President Trump stated on September 4 that the United States is leading China in the field of AI. "We are watching it very closely, and we are leading China in AI. Whoever wins in AI will be the winner. And right now, this is basically a competition between us and China."
Regarding AI competition and the establishment of guardrails, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance stated on September 14: "We want to ensure smart regulation, but we must also ensure that the United States maintains its leading position. This is a concern of ours, but we want to ensure smart regulation and think carefully about the risks involved. Another thing the President has emphasized is that we know China is engaged in this long-term AI race with the United States, and we want to ensure that the United States handles things wisely and continues to maintain its lead."
From trade and the situation in Iran to artificial intelligence, these three items constitute the three major strategic points of contention for this U.S.-China summit. Whether the two sides can reach a consensus on these issues will be the focus of outside attention. VOA reporter Wang Yuhe reporting from Washington.
According to the schedule released by the White House today, the U.S.-China presidential summit will be held on Friday. The two heads of state and their spouses will have tea in the Red Room of the White House and visit the U.S. National Archives together to view important historical documents. So, what important archives does President Trump intend to show Xi Jinping? VOA reporter Huang Yaoyi visited the U.S. National Archives on-site to bring you this report.
I am currently standing in front of the U.S. National Archives. According to White House officials, after the highly anticipated Trump-Xi summit is held at the White House, President Trump and Xi Jinping will come to the National Archives on Friday to visit important historical artifacts related to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The artifacts in the National Archives related to the history of the founding of the United States include the original Declaration of Independence written on parchment, the U.S. Constitution, the Treaty of Paris signed in 1783 that ended the American Revolutionary War, and George Washington's first inaugural address in 1789, among others. A statement from the Office of the First Lady said that they will also view artifacts related to U.S.-China relations that day. In addition to historical materials on ping-pong diplomacy and panda diplomacy, the archives also contain State Department records, including high-level intelligence memoranda and diplomatic negotiation transcripts regarding U.S. policy toward the People's Republic of China and Taiwan. As for historical materials related to the two important U.S. presidents in U.S.-China relations, Carter and Nixon, including Deng Xiaoping's visit and Nixon's visit to China, they are also part of the National Archives, but are all stored in their respective presidential libraries.
Although many important historical artifacts of White House caliber are stored in their respective presidential libraries, this National Archives does house a painting of flowers and birds symbolizing good fortune that was gifted by China when the Nixons visited Beijing. It is curious what gifts the two sides will exchange during this Trump-Xi summit. VOA reporter Huang Yaoyi reporting from Washington.
In addition to the U.S. National Archives, President Trump will also host a state dinner at the White House for Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan. What role does the First Lady of the United States play on such an important occasion as a state visit? Continuing with the report from VOA White House reporter Huang Yaoyi.
Whenever a foreign head of state visits the White House, numerous ceremonial activities, including state dinners, are coordinated by the Office of the First Lady. First Ladies also use their ingenuity to add highlights to busy state affairs. The menu I am holding, with both Chinese and English, is the menu from the state dinner hosted by President Jimmy Carter on January 29, 1979, for Deng Xiaoping, then First Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, and his wife, Zhuo Lin. Mrs. Carter, Rosalynn, meticulously prepared a menu written in calligraphy in both Chinese and English. The appetizer was seafood rolls, the main course was stuffed roast veal, and dessert included chocolate and coffee. After the state dinner, Rosalynn arranged for the guests to watch a performance at the Kennedy Center.
The First Lady's diplomatic work is also reflected in her attire. In 1972, President Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit China, and his wife, Pat, who accompanied him, specially wore red clothing symbolizing joy. It was also because Pat told Zhou Enlai that she thought pandas were cute that Zhou Enlai promised on the spot to gift two pandas, thus initiating U.S.-China panda diplomacy.
First Lady diplomacy combines with the background culture of the visiting guests. In September 2015, at the invitation of President Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the White House. Mrs. Obama, Michelle, took Xi Jinping's wife, Peng Liyuan, to the Washington Zoo to name a panda cub that had been born four weeks earlier. In April 2017, President Trump invited Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan to the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida for a summit. Mrs. Trump, Melania, visited the nearby Bak Middle School of the Arts with Peng Liyuan, where the school teaches music, dance, and other art courses. Peng Liyuan once studied at the China Conservatory of Music.
Anita McBride has served in the White House since the Reagan administration and once served as Chief of Staff to former First Lady Laura Bush. From the first First Lady, Martha Washington, to the current First Lady, Melania Trump, there has been a significant thread connecting outgoing First Ladies: their diplomatic function. This involves serving as representatives of the United States to the world, particularly in hosting foreign guests and world leaders at the White House. Therefore, this diplomatic function, which might be called a form of soft power, appears particularly important.
On Thursday, after the two presidents begin their bilateral talks, First Lady Melania will take Peng Liyuan to visit the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. A state dinner will be held in the White House East Room in the evening. VOA reporter Huang Yaoyi reporting from the White House.
That is all for today's VOA Focus. For more reports on the U.S.-China summit, please follow the VOA Chinese website. We will also launch a special program on the day of the U.S.-China summit, so please stay tuned. I am Fan Dongning, thank you for watching, and we will see you again tomorrow.