Xi Jinping to meet Donald Trump on September 24, skip UNGA

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit the US from September 23 to 25 for a scheduled meeting with President Donald Trump and will not attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Politico reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The sources said Xi is due to meet Trump in Washington on September 24, but does not intend to participate in the UN General Debate, which begins on September 22 and brings world leaders to New York for a week of speeches and diplomatic meetings.

Instead, Xi is expected to limit his US visit to the White House summit with Trump. One person familiar with the itinerary made clear that Xi would likely arrive late on September 23 and leave on September 25.

“Xi is set to fly in likely late on Sept. 23 — he isn’t doing UNGA — and fly out on the 25th,” the person added. “He’ll really only have one day of meetings at the White House on the 24th.”

The State Department referred questions about Xi’s schedule to the White House. A White House spokesperson confirmed that Xi will visit the White House on September 24 but declined to comment on other possible activities during his U.S. trip.

Xi’s decision not to attend the General Assembly comes after speculation in Washington that he could use the occasion to present China as a supporter of peaceful international development, particularly as the United States remains engaged in a war with Iran.

“When the Sept. 24 summit date was initially announced, people pointed out that the Chinese may have suggested that date so he could also go to New York City for UNGA,” a Washington-based EU diplomat said.

According to the diplomat, officials in New York had observed that Beijing had not dispatched an advance team to the city, something that would normally be expected ahead of a visit by Xi.

The Chinese embassy and the US Mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to requests for comment.

Xi last visited New York in 2015, when he addressed the General Assembly during events marking the 70th anniversary of the UN's founding. In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he delivered his address virtually.

During that speech, Xi implicitly referred to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan a month earlier while promoting China’s vision of a post-U.S.-dominated international order centred on its economic development model.

Richard Stengel, who served as Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs under President Barack Obama, described Xi’s decision to skip the assembly as a lost opportunity for Beijing.

“It’s a missed opportunity for Xi because China has positioned itself as a great supporter of the U.N. Charter and a bastion of global governance while the U.S. is embroiled in a war in Iran and is receding on the international front,” Stengel said.

He added that Xi’s absence could also benefit the Trump administration by avoiding a direct contrast between China’s support for the United Nations and Trump’s “America First” approach.

“For the Trump administration it’s a benefit in the sense that there won’t be a contrast between a world power that is sort of backing the U.N. versus America First, which doesn’t care about the U.N.”

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov