Catenaa, Sunday, September 20, 2026- President Trump is set to meet with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this week to discuss tariffs, AI, and tech that affect the global economy.
The two leaders will meet on Washington on Thursday, at a time when tensions have ramped up since they last met in May, as the US accuses China of not keeping to the trade truce agreed for one year.
Bloomberg News reported that the meeting is expected to cover everything from tariffs to artificial intelligence controls. “Looming over the meeting are Chinese export curbs on critical minerals and rare earths that have caused supply shocks for US and other global companies,” the report said.
Both sides have played more leverage in the weeks leading up to the meeting, and Bloomberg reports that it is not clear if their trade truce will be extended by a year, as many observers expect, or if the US side will insist on a shorter timeframe as a way to pressure China into more concessions.
“Beijing, for its part, would like the detente to last until the end of Trump’s term,” the report said.
EU will closely watch the outcome of the meeting between the two nations as the EU is set to meet China in early October.
According to trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, that meeting will need to show concrete results on the Chinese side to avert countermeasures being deployed by the bloc.
Trump administration has pushed back the anticipated report on excess capacity after the summit, and according to Bloomberg, is likely to suspend many of the tariffs on China, leaving only a 7.5% duty.
Trump has also downplayed reporting that China provided Iran with targeting data to attack US service members in the Middle East.
Bloomberg Economics said that trade tensions between the US and China, a central theme of previous meetings between Trump and Xi, have eased sharply since the two last met.
“We think both sides want to avoid another flare-up, and relative stability in the relationship is likely to continue. But as the US rebuilds its tariff wall, the risk of renewed escalation remains.” Bloomberg Economics team led by Nicole Gorton-Caratelli said in a note.
