Deliverables, Not Concessions: 5 Priorities for President Xi’s Visit to Washington

As U.S. President Donald Trump gears up for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Washington on September 24, he must focus on advancing the interests of the American people. During previous encounters with Xi, the Trump administration has not resolved or even raised issues of critical importance—instead reversing key national security measures and backtracking from the games of escalation that the administration started.

This time must be different: The president should place the following five issues squarely on the agenda for Xi Jinping’s state visit.

1. Manage AI risks

The exponential speed and hidden nature of frontier artificial intelligence (AI) development presents an existential risk to the human race. As the two most consequential AI superpowers, both the United States and China have a responsibility to put appropriate safeguards in place. Self-interest in survival, not shared values, should provide the necessary motivation for Trump and Xi to talk about AI risks and safety. While a comprehensive agreement at this stage is unlikely, the two sides should use the upcoming AI dialogue and state visit to discuss deliberate pacing of frontier AI to prevent loss of human control. Meaningful concrete deliverables could include an AI “red phone” for real-time safety alerts, a working group focused explicitly on the “pacing” issue, and a commitment to sharing safety research, as the Center for American Progress has elaborated in recent work. At a minimum, the two leaders must establish how each side defines catastrophic risk and map baseline reciprocal guardrails.

2. Tighten fentanyl precursor restrictions

The fentanyl crisis continues to touch millions of Americans. In 2025, opioids claimed an estimated 45,000 lives in the United States. Unilateral military strikes on boats, blanket tariffs, and the alienation of partners do not constitute an effective anti-narcotics strategy. Tackling global fentanyl trafficking requires sustained pressure along the supply chain. Trump should press Xi to expand precursor export controls globally, as some are currently only restricted if their destination is the United States, Canada, or Mexico. He should also push for bans on entire chemical classes to shut down transshipment loopholes. And to incentivize compliance, Washington could offer fast-tracked customs for compliant exporters.

3. Confront industrial overcapacity

China’s industrial overcapacity and its export-led growth model have created unfair conditions for competition, hollowing out manufacturing and destroying jobs both in the United States and across the globe. The world is waking up to the increasingly disruptive implications of China’s long-standing and unparalleled state support for its manufacturers. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that Chinese companies in key industries receive three to eight times more state support than their competitors in developed nations, and the United Nations has projected China’s share of global manufacturing output could rise from 30 percent to 45 percent by the end of the decade. President Trump must make clear to Xi that the nonmarket practices of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)—including massive subsidies, use of forced labor, and currency undervaluation—cannot be tolerated. The Trump administration should coordinate with its partners and allies to push back from a position of strength.

4. Protect Americans from repressive practices at home and abroad

Trump should press Xi to immediately release wrongfully detained Americans and human rights champions as well as end Beijing’s use of arbitrary exit bans. This kind of hostage diplomacy is not only a human rights issue; it cuts against the most fundamental of U.S. national interests, including the safety, security, and liberty of American citizens. Trump should also draw a firm redline on transnational repression, making clear that any intimidation of activists, dissidents, and journalists—particularly on U.S. soil—threatens U.S. sovereignty and will face direct legal and retaliatory enforcement.

5. Address PRC support for U.S. adversaries and bullying of U.S. partners

While claiming neutrality, Beijing acts as an indispensable material lifeline for Washington’s primary adversaries. China purchases sanctioned oil from Russia and Iran while its entities supply Moscow with essential dual-use technologies—such as semiconductors, machine tools, and drone components—and provide Tehran with critical satellite imagery and navigation systems. Such technologies have been used against U.S. military targets, resulting in the death of U.S. soldiers. President Trump should demand that Xi halt dual-use exports to Russia and Iran, shut down underground banks moving illegal money, and set clear penalties for Chinese businesses that break international rules.

Just as importantly, Trump must insist that Xi end the increasingly dangerous bullying of U.S. partners and allies in the Western Pacific, especially Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines. Escalating PRC provocations in the maritime, air, and cyber domains put peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific at risk, and Xi needs to hear from Trump that the United States will stand steadfastly with its partners.

Conclusion

The measure of a successful summit is not whether both leaders emerge smiling, but whether the American people emerge safer, more secure, and more prosperous. In an era defined by compounding global crises and an increasingly adversarial PRC, it is imperative that the Trump administration stop trading away vital economic and national security leverage and instead channel that leverage into securing U.S. interests. If Xi gives nothing more than vague promises, Trump should not paper over his diplomatic failure with chummy photo ops and empty rhetoric. The American people deserve the truth about the status of the most important bilateral relationship and what it means for their everyday lives.