Trump may visit China in November 2026 to attend Apec Summit: US official

The development comes a day after Trump said that he has accepted Xi's invitation to visit China in April and that he invited Xi for a state visit to the US later next year

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday (local time) said that President Donald Trump could visit China in November 2026 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit, which may be one of the four potential in-person meetings between Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in the next year.

 

As with many features of the Trump presidency, this level of contact would be unprecedented, matched only by Trump’s four meetings with Xi in 2017 during his first term, the South China Morning Post reported.

 

Speaking with CNBC, Bessent noted that while the two countries will always be competitors, their ties are still improving. He said, "What I feel very good about is the relationship between the leaders. “We’re always going to be rivals. That’s natural. But are there things we can do together? Yes.”

 

The development comes a day after Trump said he has accepted Xi's invitation to visit China in April and that he invited Xi for a state visit to the US later next year.

 

The announcement came after Trump and Xi spoke on the phone, nearly a month after their first in-person meeting since Trump took office this year. Trump said the discussions covered Ukraine, fentanyl, and China's purchase of American soybeans, Associated Press reported.

 

China's purchase of US soybeans

 

Addressing a key concern for Trump and his team, rising inflation and the impact of his trade war on American farmers, Bessent said China’s purchases of US soybeans are “right on schedule".

 

Beijing stopped buying US soybeans earlier this year as bilateral tensions escalated between the two countries and turned to Brazil to fill the gap. This became a sticking point ahead of an agreement that was reached on October 30, under which Beijing would purchase “at least” 87.5 million metric tonnes of US grain over the next three and a half years.

 

Trump-Xi meetings

 

Four in-person meetings within a year between the two countries’ leaders would be unprecedented, aside from Trump’s early first-term outreach, when he met Xi in Florida, Germany, Beijing, and Vietnam over seven months.

 

In addition to accepting Trump's invitation for a state visit, Xi might also visit the US for the annual Group of 20 meeting, which is scheduled to take place at the Trump National Doral Miami resort in Florida.

 

"If there are four meetings during the year, I think that gives the relationship great stability,” Bessent said. “And stability is good for the American people and good for the world economy."

 

According to the report, Bessent has taken a prominent role in easing tensions with China since Trump returned to office, holding multiple rounds of discussions in Geneva, London, Stockholm, Madrid and Kuala Lumpur, often with Chinese Vice Minister He Lifeng.