President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping has departed Beijing for Washington on a state visit to the United States.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that Chinese state television released the information.
According to the report, Xi is accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan; Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China; and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
US President Donald Trump is expected to personally welcome Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews, a military airfield near Washington. The move is considered rare, as US presidents do not often personally receive foreign leaders at an airport.
A formal welcoming ceremony for Xi Jinping and his wife is scheduled to take place at the White House on Sept. 24, followed by a meeting between Trump and the Chinese leader. The US president will host a state dinner that evening.
The talks are expected to cover trade, tariffs, rare-earth elements and artificial intelligence.
The visit comes amid continuing competition between the world’s two largest economies. Discussions on trade and critical minerals are particularly significant because rare-earth elements are essential to a wide range of high-technology and defense industries, while artificial intelligence has become a key area of economic and strategic competition.
