The China-Japan summit will be held four times in 2026! US Treasury Secretary: The two countries will meet alternately, and China-US relations are thawing.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Basset revealed that U.S. President Trump and Chinese leaders may hold four face-to-face meetings in 2026, as both sides seek to solidify the currently still fragile trade truce. He stated that Trump plans to visit Beijing in April 2026 and may attend the APEC meeting in Shenzhen in November of the same year. Additionally, Trump will invite Chinese leaders to visit the U.S. twice. He emphasized that four meetings between Trump and Xi within a year would help stabilize the relationship between the two countries.

Itinerary for the Four Meetings between Trump and Xi Revealed: Beijing, Shenzhen, Washington, Doral

(Source: Bloomberg)

According to Beisente, these four potential Trump-Xi meetings will be held at different locations, forming key support points for Sino-U.S. relations next year. The first Trump-Xi meeting is planned to take place in April 2026 in Beijing, which will be Trump’s first official visit to China as President of the United States. The symbolic significance of this state visit is substantial, representing a shift in Sino-U.S. relations from a state of confrontation due to the trade war to seeking a new stage of cooperation.

The second Xi-Trump meeting is expected to be held in Shenzhen in November 2026, during which the leaders of the two countries will meet at the APEC meeting. APEC is the most important economic cooperation platform in the Asia-Pacific region, and choosing to hold the Xi-Trump meeting at this occasion shows that both sides hope to demonstrate Sino-U.S. cooperation within a multilateral framework, providing positive signals for regional economic stability. As a frontier city of China's reform and opening up and a center for technological innovation, Shenzhen also suggests that technological cooperation may become a topic of discussion.

The third meeting between Trump and Xi will be held in Washington, marking the Chinese leader's official state visit to the United States. State visits in Washington typically include high-level courtesies such as a state dinner at the White House and a speech to Congress, reflecting the Trump administration's emphasis on Sino-American relations. During the state visit, the leaders of the two countries usually sign multiple cooperation agreements covering various fields such as trade, investment, technology, and climate change.

The fourth meeting between Trump and Xi will be held at Trump's resort in Doral, Florida, coinciding with the G20 summit. During his first term, Trump hosted foreign leaders at his estate multiple times, and these informal occasions often facilitate more candid dialogue. The G20 summit includes the world's 20 major economies, and holding the Trump-Xi meeting against this backdrop signifies that both China and the United States hope to demonstrate the importance of their cooperation for global economic stability.

Overview of the Four Meetings Between Trump and Xi

April 2026: State visit to Beijing, Trump visits China for the first time as president.

November 2026: Meeting during the Shenzhen APEC conference, focusing on regional economic cooperation.

Sometime next year: State visit to Washington, high-level diplomatic visit of Chinese leaders to the US.

Sometime next year: Doral Resort, Florida, informal meetings during the G20 Summit

Bessent leads US-China détente: Stability is crucial

As the head of the Treasury Department, Besant has led efforts to maintain a cooling of trade tensions between the U.S. and China over the past year. He has led delegations to negotiate with Chinese counterparts in multiple cities including Geneva, London, Stockholm, Madrid, and Kuala Lumpur to promote a return to normal trade relations. This intense multi-city negotiation reflects the U.S. government's emphasis on restoring economic ties with China.

Beisent emphasized: “One thing I am very confident about is the relationship between the two national leaders. We will always be competitors, and that's natural. However, there are still many areas where we can cooperate.” This statement acknowledges the structural competition between China and the United States, while also pointing out the necessity and possibility of cooperation. He further stated: “If four meetings between Trump and Xi can be held within a year, I believe it will help inject stability into the relationship between the two countries, and stability is crucial for the American people and the global economy.”

Besent also confirmed that Trump was the initiator of the call between the Chinese and American leaders on Monday. This was the first communication between the two leaders since their meeting in Busan, South Korea in October. Trump's initiative to make the call shows the U.S. side's positive attitude towards improving China-U.S. relations. In the current context of the global economy facing multiple uncertainties, the stability of the relationship between China and the U.S., as the two largest economies in the world, has systemic implications for the global supply chain, trade flows, and financial markets.

From the market reaction, after the news of the Trump-Xi meeting was announced, global stock markets generally rose, indicating that investors hold an optimistic attitude towards the easing of China-U.S. relations. The soybean futures prices in U.S. agricultural states also rebounded, reflecting the market's positive expectations for the resumption of China-U.S. trade.

Soybean Procurement Commitment: At least 87.5 million tons over the next 3.5 years

Beisen Te revealed that China is “advancing completely according to plan” in soybean procurement. He stated that China has committed to purchasing at least 87.5 million tons of American soybeans in the next three and a half years. This figure is significant because soybeans have been a sensitive commodity in the U.S.-China trade war. Previously, the tense relations between the U.S. and China led to China temporarily halting the purchase of American soybeans and turning to other suppliers like Brazil, which severely impacted U.S. agricultural states.

The procurement commitment of 87.5 million tons is equivalent to about 70% of the annual soybean production in the United States, a scale sufficient to stabilize expectations in the U.S. agricultural sector. For Trump's political base—Midwestern agricultural states—this is an important political and economic victory. The fulfillment of the soybean procurement agreement has also become an important indicator for assessing the implementation of the China-U.S. trade agreement.

From China's perspective, although purchasing American soybeans means certain political concessions, it also aligns with its food security and livestock needs. China is the world's largest importer of soybeans, with annual import volumes exceeding 100 million tons, and diversifying import sources aligns with its strategic interests.

AI competition is a matter of life and death, Taiwan's position remains unchanged

Speaking about technological competition, Besant stated that the capital expenditure in the United States related to artificial intelligence infrastructure will remain “extremely strong”, and future investment directions will become more diversified. He candidly remarked that the competition between the US and China in the AI field is a “matter of life and death”: “If we cannot maintain our leading position in artificial intelligence, then everything else we are doing will be put on hold.”

This statement shows that although meetings between Trump and Xi will be held frequently, the competition between China and the United States in the technology sector will not weaken as a result. AI is seen as a key technology that determines future national competitiveness, and the United States will continue to maintain a tough policy towards China in terms of chip export controls and restrictions on the movement of talent. This pattern of “co-opetition” will become the new normal in China-U.S. relations.

Bessent also emphasized that the United States' position on Taiwan “has not changed at all.” This indicates that despite the frequent Trump-Xi meetings, the U.S. will not make concessions on the Taiwan issue. The Taiwan issue remains the most sensitive topic in Sino-U.S. relations, and the U.S. reiterates its unchanged stance to stabilize the confidence of regional allies.

Besant also stated that Trump and the Chinese leaders agreed that the two countries would cooperate to promote the end of Russia's military operations in Ukraine. This shows that there is still room for cooperation between China and the United States on certain global issues. Resolving the Ukraine issue requires coordination among major powers, and if China and the United States can demonstrate a cooperative stance on this issue, it will inject positive factors into global geopolitical stability.