Xi-Trump Summit Planned Amid $1 Trillion Surplus

China’s export machine remains strong ahead of President Xi Jinping’s September 24 meeting with current President Donald Trump, with its global trade surplus projected to exceed $1 trillion for a second consecutive year despite U.S. tariffs and trade restrictions. More than half of roughly 6,500 product categories China has sold to the United States this year have grown from 2025, while Zhejiang province has urged manufacturers to increase production, accelerate deliveries and pursue new American orders. The resilience has reduced expectations that Xi will make major concessions, making an extension of last year’s trade truce the likely priority rather than a sweeping agreement. Preparatory talks have explored possible cooperation on artificial-intelligence safeguards and non-sensitive trade, while the truce has included U.S. tariff reductions alongside Chinese commitments involving fentanyl precursors, soybean purchases and rare-earth export controls. Both governments still face pressure—China from weak domestic demand and its property crisis, and Trump from economic and political strains—while issues such as Taiwan could also arise.