According to the source material, the Politburo on September 21 expelled Ma Xingrui, Wang Lixia and 7 others — 8 Central Committee members in total — from the Party, including Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli; the related disciplinary actions are still pending ratification by the plenary session.
It was officially announced that Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to the United States from September 23 to 25, with an itinerary including a tour of the National Archives and attendance at a state dinner.
On September 21, the CCP Politburo meeting reviewed and approved disciplinary decisions for Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, both of whom were expelled from the Party and the military, and their suspected criminal matters were transferred to the military procuratorial organ for investigation and prosecution.
On September 21, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision announced that Qin Weizhong, member of the Leading Party Group of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress and former mayor of Shenzhen, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervisory investigation.
On September 21, 2026, China's Foreign Ministry announced that Xi Jinping will visit the United States at Trump's invitation from September 23 to 25. The itinerary includes a summit meeting, a White House state banquet, and a roundtable with heads of technology companies. Both sides described the reciprocal visits as a milestone.
Reports on September 21 showed that the unemployment rate among non-student youth aged 16 to 24 in China rose to 18.9%, amid a continuing economic downturn. Although multiple economists have warned that AI is unlikely to drive employment, Beijing still plans to invest approximately $295 billion over the next five years to build a national data center network. Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of focusing on "hard power" rather than just GDP.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Xi Jinping was absent from the BRICS summit banquet due to illness, and Wang Yi attended on his behalf.
The US Department of State has approved a foreign military sale of air defense systems to Ukraine, including S-300 clone missiles, with a total estimated value of up to $2.68 billion.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrived in New York late at night on September 21, planning to hold talks with Trump on September 22. The visit aims to coordinate stances on China ahead of a US-China summit and discuss the burden of US military stationing costs in Japan.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Xi Jinping views Trump's second term as a rare window of opportunity for Taiwan work, attempting to advance reunification without waging war by weakening U.S.-Taiwan mutual trust and conducting cognitive warfare.
According to The New York Times on September 21, Xi Jinping will meet Trump in Washington this week, and the summit is expected to focus on continuing the trade truce and managing differences over Taiwan, artificial intelligence, and other issues.
On September 21, Foreign Policy published an article pointing out that Chinese open-source models such as Qwen, owing to their low cost, local deployability, and strong support for non-Latin scripts, have significantly outperformed Meta Llama in downloads across Global South markets, creating technological dependence.
According to Hu Liren, host of Real China, Xi Jinping had not appeared in public for the previous seven days because he suffered a sudden mild stroke and received about seven days of intensive drug treatment in his hospital bed to dissolve a blood clot; his medical team may have recommended three months of rest.
On September 21, Xi Jinping chaired a meeting of the Standing Committee of the CCP Political Bureau, stressing the sustained advancement of full and strict Party self-governance, and reiterating Marxism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought, which was said to signal a tightening of politics within the Party.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced that the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee will be held in Beijing from October 26 to 29.
About an hour after the Politburo meeting ended on September 21, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced that President Xi Jinping would pay a state visit to the United States on September 23, after Beijing had gone three consecutive days without confirming the trip.
On September 20, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on social media that the Security Service of Ukraine, Unmanned Systems Forces, and Special Operations Forces, among other departments, jointly launched a large-scale long-range drone strike against the Moscow region the previous night, successfully hitting critical Russian petroleum industrial facilities and logistical bases.
On September 18, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued a notice requiring platforms to clean up negative information inconsistent with official corporate statements, and categorized behaviors such as parodying corporate logos, products, and entrepreneurs' portraits as false and misleading handling scopes, demanding platforms to implement whole-process audits and strict handling of enterprise-related information.
On September 19, The Wall Street Journal reported that Xi Jinping temporarily cancelled his attendance at the BRICS summit banquet held in New Delhi, India on September 12 due to physical discomfort, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi attending on his behalf. Official Beijing has not provided an explanation for the absence, prompting outside concerns regarding his health status and power succession, though currently there is no evidence indicating he is seriously ill.
The White House announced that Xi Jinping will visit the United States from September 23 to 25. During his visit, he will hold talks with Trump, attend a state banquet, and, accompanied by Trump on the 25th, tour the U.S. National Archives to view the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
On September 20, 2026, US Treasury Secretary Bessent and US Trade Representative Greer held talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at JPMorgan Chase headquarters in New York. The two sides discussed issues including trade, artificial intelligence safety, and rare earth supplies, preparing for the Trump-Xi summit to be held next week.
On the final day of the Russian parliamentary elections, the skies over Moscow were hit by a large-scale drone attack. An oil refinery in the Moscow Oblast caught fire, billowing black smoke, and the area near the Kremlin was also affected.
During a live stream, Biao Jie stated that his video about the Trump-Xi summit received a yellow icon on YouTube, and multiple videos failed to upload successfully. Even a short clip filming roadside scenery was marked as risky. He questioned YouTube's review standards, believing it has compromised with the CCP and may be forced to reduce video production.
In a livestream on September 20, 2026, Hu Liren speculated that Xi Jinping's repeated unusual behavior during his India trip and his absence from public appearances for seven days after returning to Beijing were consistent with the characteristics of a minor stroke.
Data from the General Administration of Customs of China shows that China's exports of rare earth magnets to the U.S. in August fell 21% from July to 512 tons. Ahead of a meeting between Trump and Xi, outside analysts suggest the Chinese side may use the expansion of rare earth exports as a negotiating chip. In addition, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held a meeting on trade and artificial intelligence issues, and both sides agreed to further consultations.
On September 20, China and the US held 8-hour economic and trade talks in New York. The two sides announced the establishment of an AI dialogue mechanism and a new bilateral trade mechanism, but the US side made it clear that export controls on advanced AI chips and semiconductor equipment are not on the negotiating agenda.
The Beijing airspace control department issued Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) A4484/26, announcing the activation of a 24/7 long-term no-fly zone centered on Beijing with a 300-kilometer radius starting from September 20, covering Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei as well as parts of Shanxi, Shandong, Inner Mongolia, and Liaoning.
On September 20, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent held a meeting in New York with Chinese State Council Vice Premier He Lifeng on trade and artificial intelligence issues. Bessent called it a very successful engagement and said the two sides agreed to hold another round of talks, but did not disclose further details.
An undercover investigation by Hebei Economic Television found that in Xianyu's pornographic traffic-generation industry chain, some customer service agents claim they can provide minors, with the youngest being only 14 years old, at prices reaching 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.
After the Moscow refinery was hit on September 20, Zelensky spoke with Trump by phone, saying they discussed many issues and agreed to meet in New York, and thanking Trump for arranging visits to Kyiv by Witkoff and Kushner and the signing of the Lindsey Graham Act. According to Axios, Trump asked Zelensky to stop striking Russian refineries to avoid diesel shortages and price hikes; Zelensky said the strikes were aimed at cutting the Russian military's fuel supply, and Trump did not ask him to stop strikes on Russian territory.
Online reports claim that more than 50 cities across the country are simultaneously carrying out crackdowns, closures and shutdowns of entertainment venues, but there is no official source.
Online reports claim that after the Spring Thunder Operation ends, entertainment venues across the country will face a 100-day intensive inspection campaign lasting from now until the end of the year, with continuous checks throughout the period.
According to the Hu Liren program, the US side has arranged for Xi Jinping to arrive at an air base in Maryland on the evening of September 23. Trump said he would personally go to the airport to greet him, but Beijing's Xinhua News Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have not yet announced the specific itinerary.
Starting September 20, 2026, China will set up a permanent special airspace restriction zone with a diameter of 600 kilometers and an area of about 280,000 square kilometers centered on Beijing, covering most of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as well as parts of Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shandong and Liaoning and the Bohai Sea. Only commercial airliners, approved business jets, and military, police, customs and firefighting flights will be allowed through; the official reason given is the June 26 incident in which a light aircraft struck the China Zun tower.
On September 17, the Financial Times reported that the EU has asked China to restrict exports of hybrid vehicles to Europe, setting a 15% market share cap. EU officials warned that if Beijing fails to cooperate voluntarily, the EU will take mandatory restrictive measures aimed at protecting domestic European industries from shocks.
Between August 2024 and February 2025, a South Korean Army soldier repeatedly leaked non-public information, such as South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises and South Korean military training, to an individual claiming to be a Chinese intelligence officer, receiving a total of 88,000 RMB. In August 2026, the South Korean Supreme Court upheld the second-instance ruling, sentencing him to 4 years in prison, along with fines and the confiscation of illegal proceeds.
On September 17, the European Parliament passed a resolution by an overwhelming majority condemning the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance for causing the collapse of freedom, calling on the EU to sanction relevant officials, and demanding the release of political prisoners including Jimmy Lai, Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung, Albert Ho, and Wong Ji-yuet.
At the Tsinghua Wudaokou Chief Economists Forum, four scholars—Lin Yifu, Yu Yongding, Yao Yang, and Li Xunlei—concentrated their efforts to call on the central government to adopt expansionary fiscal policies and bail out local government debt.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official announced that Vice Premier He Lifeng will travel to the United States to negotiate with U.S. Treasury Secretary Baisente, and the news has sparked speculation abroad about whether Xi Jinping will visit the United States.
Russia launched airstrikes on Ukraine from the night of September 17 to the early morning of September 18, hitting Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa, resulting in three deaths, multiple injuries, and several fires. Meanwhile, voting began on Friday for the first State Duma parliamentary elections since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Min Zin, director of a Myanmar think tank, was arrested in June while attending an academic conference in Kunming, charged with espionage and endangering state security. His wife, Sylvia, testified before the U.S. Congress on September 17, calling on Trump to secure her husband's release during his meeting with Xi Jinping next week.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold talks at the White House on September 24, which will be the second in-person meeting between the two heads of state in 2026, with trade, security, human rights, and Iran expected to be the focus of the discussions.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold talks at the White House on September 24. This will be the second face-to-face meeting between the two heads of state this year, drawing attention from bipartisan lawmakers in Congress regarding national security, trade, human rights, Iran, and other issues.
The permanent representatives of five countries—Palau, the Marshall Islands, Saint Lucia, Belize, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines—jointly wrote to the United Nations Secretariat, arguing that UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 does not exclude Taiwan from participating in the United Nations, and calling on all parties to engage in dialogue to prevent the Taiwan Strait from escalating into a wider conflict.
American seismologist Chen Youlin, detained in China, has been designated by the U.S. as "wrongfully detained." The White House stated that resolving cases of detained U.S. citizens has always been a top priority for the president.
US President Trump said on September 19 that the US-Iran conflict is entering a critical point, that he will make a major decision on whether to launch large-scale military action to completely eliminate the Iranian regime, and that he expects to meet with Gulf state leaders during the UN General Assembly next week to discuss action against Iran.
On September 17, Reuters cited sources reporting that, at the request of Saudi Arabia, China privately asked Iran to use its influence to restrain Yemen's Houthi armed forces to prevent their military operations from threatening the Red Sea energy transportation corridor. Iran responded that regional stability depends on US and Israeli policies, and it remains unclear whether Iran will take action.
On September 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in an interview with Japan's NHK in Kyiv that China has not remained neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war, and that Chinese-made components are present in the missiles and drones used by the Russian military. Zelenskyy believes that China has massive influence over Russia, yet has seen no pressure from the Chinese side to end the war, and expressed regret that China has not politically stood on Ukraine's side.
On September 18, while the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources government vessel BRP Datu Magat Salamat was carrying out a mission in the waters off Palawan, it was rammed by China Coast Guard ship 21585, resulting in damage to the Philippine ship's starboard side. The Philippine side accused China of a deliberate collision, while the Chinese side claimed the Philippine vessel made an illegal diagonal cut causing a scrape, and insisted its own operation was lawful.
On September 14, the US Department of Justice accused two Hong Kong-registered companies, Blessed Trust and Hexa Whale, of using Binance accounts to launder money for the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The case involves over $1.5 billion in Iranian oil proceeds, and the US has filed to seize $61 million in previously frozen cryptocurrency assets.