Xi Jinping is expected to visit the United States from September 23 to 25 and meet with President Trump on September 24, roughly one year before the 21st National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Chinese political observers say Beijing hopes the summit will help stabilize economic and business expectations, while Xi could use the high-profile diplomatic engagement to demonstrate his control over foreign policy and upcoming personnel arrangements within the Party.
Xi’s visit comes as attention focuses on whether he will continue as CCP General Secretary and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, potentially entering a fourth term. Beijing has not announced any such arrangements or publicly discussed a potential successor.
A Chinese political scholar said official-media coverage of a Xi-Trump meeting at the White House could reinforce Xi’s image as the leader directing China’s major-power diplomacy. A military affairs scholar said Xi’s overseas visit, amid continuing changes in the PLA leadership, could serve as a domestic display of his political influence and control over the military command system.
Chinese state media have already established a favorable narrative around Xi’s summit diplomacy. People’s Daily described head-of-state diplomacy in May as the “compass” and “rudder” of China-U.S. relations, saying Xi and Trump had helped “calibrate the trajectory” of bilateral ties at a critical moment. Beijing has also promoted the concept of building a “constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability.”
Source: Radio Free Asia, September 9, 2026
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhengzhi/waijiao/2026/09/09/china-xi-jinpings-visit-to-the-us-trump-21st-national-congress-of-the-cpc/