US Senator Steve Daines, President Donald Trump’s envoy, is expected to return to Beijing for another round of talks as Washington and Beijing finalize the agenda for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned September visit to the White House, according to people familiar with the preparations. The trip, reported exclusively by the South China Morning Post, comes weeks before what both sides hope will be a high-stakes summit between Trump and Xi.
Context
Daines, a Montana Republican and close ally of Trump, has become one of the most important backchannel figures in US-China relations. He first visited China in March 2025 as one of the first senior US officials after Trump’s second inauguration, and in May 2026 he led a bipartisan delegation to Beijing ahead of Trump’s state visit. During that visit, Trump formally invited Xi to Washington on September 24, 2026.
Key Developments
According to Sinchew Daily, officials are reviewing, item by item, the consensus reached when Trump and Xi met in Beijing in May, with the goal of converting several agreements into concrete outcomes at the Washington summit. Agenda items under active discussion include an AI safety cooperation agreement, a bilateral trade and investment committee, and a roughly US$30 billion tariff-free trade program covering critical minerals, semiconductors and chips. The two sides are also exchanging on citizens detained by the other country.
AI is expected to be an important topic during Xi’s visit, with officials preparing a bilateral AI dialogue in September as the main follow-up to the May discussions, the report said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly stated that Washington hopes to launch the trade committee by the time Xi arrives. Beyond economics, officials are expected to discuss the US-Iran war, the Ukraine war and the Taiwan issue, described as the most sensitive item.
The urgency of the preparations reflects broader continuity at the highest levels. VOA Chinese reported that Rubio confirmed on July 19 that Xi’s visit remains on track: “We expect this trip to happen in September. They continue to send personnel over to participate in the preparations. I haven’t heard other messages.” The following day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said both sides are maintaining communication on the arrangement of head-of-state interactions within the year, calling such diplomacy “irreplaceable” for guiding the relationship.
Analysis
The diplomatic choreography comes despite persistent friction between the two powers, including Trump’s July 16 accusations that China obtained about 220 million US voter records. Still, prediction markets appear confident the summit will happen. Crypto Briefing noted that pricing on “Will Xi Jinping visit US before 2027?” remained high, dipping only slightly from 94% to 92.5% in the week before July 31. For both governments, the potential payoff of a successful meeting appears to outweigh the political risks of appearing too conciliatory at home.
What’s Next
People familiar with the preparations say all communication channels remain open and that both sides talk regularly. With Daines’ return expected to lock in the agenda, the focus now shifts to what Xi and Trump can deliver in Washington—and whether the two sides can stabilize a relationship tested by trade, technology and regional conflicts. No official confirmation of Xi’s exact travel dates has been announced.