Xi Meets Trump at the White House as Trade Truce Is Extended Two Months

Chinese President Xi Jinping met President Trump at the White House on Thursday, the second day of a three-day state visit, and the two governments extended their trade truce by two months, according to Al Jazeera. Mr. Trump called the meeting “great” and described a “truly great friendship” with Mr. Xi, Al Jazeera and CBS News reported, but no breakthroughs on Iran or Taiwan were reported.

The extension rolls over a truce first reached in October 2025. China agreed to buy more U.S. soybeans, and its rare-earth export ban was delayed until Jan. 10, Al Jazeera reported. The delay is a pause, not a cancellation: China holds about 60% of known rare-earth deposits and processes about 90% of them, the outlet said, so its planned restrictions remain a source of leverage. Tariffs rose after Mr. Trump took office in January 2025, when he accused China of fentanyl trafficking, reaching a potential 150% before they were paused for talks. A July Congressional Research Service report puts current rates at 36.5% on Chinese goods entering the U.S. and 31% on American goods entering China, Al Jazeera reported.

Analysts were divided on the extension. Einar Tangen of the Center for International Governance Innovation called it “transactional theatre” aimed at pre-midterm optics, and Phillippe Le Corre of ESSEC argued that repeatedly shorter extensions show the sides have not found common ground, Al Jazeera reported. Sun Chenghao of Tsinghua University called it a “useful interim step” that needs concrete commitments to matter. Risks to the truce include the new U.S. sanctions on buyers of Russian oil, technology restrictions, the AI rivalry and Taiwan, the outlet said.

Iran was a central subject. The war has closed the Strait of Hormuz and driven up global energy prices, and Mr. Trump wants China to help isolate Tehran economically, according to Al Jazeera. Mr. Xi said he supports the United States and Iran returning to an interim agreement that broke down shortly after it was announced in June, the outlet reported. Mr. Xi urged both countries to avoid the “Thucydides Trap,” calling the relationship “a race of catching up with one another” rather than a zero-sum contest. Xinhua reported that he also urged Mr. Trump to oppose Taiwanese independence, Al Jazeera said.

The welcome drew criticism from within Mr. Trump’s own party. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican, criticized the “lavish welcome” for Mr. Xi, and Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen made a similar criticism, Al Jazeera reported. Sen. Thom Tillis, a retiring North Carolina Republican, called the visit “a WTF moment” and said he was “worried about the trend of spending more time with despots and less time with democratic leaders of nations,” CBS News reported. He cited China’s treatment of the Uyghurs, espionage and reports that Iran used Chinese information to target U.S. military assets, and questioned the administration’s holding up of an arms shipment to Taiwan.

Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, supported the diplomacy, writing, “Talk more, war less,” Al Jazeera reported. Mr. Trump postponed final approval of a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan after a May meeting with Mr. Xi and has called arms sales a “very good negotiating chip,” the outlet said.

Mr. Xi was hosted at a state dinner this week, CBS News reported. Mr. Trump has said the relationship has become more productive since the two sides reached a tariff truce in 2025, after a trade war pushed duties on both sides above 100%, the network said.