From First Lady Melania Trump:

President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will welcome His Excellency Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China and Madame Peng Liyuan to the White House on Thursday, September 24, 2026, for an official state visit.

This visit comes more than a decade since President Xi and Madame Peng’s last visit to the White House, marking a significant milestone in the relationship between the two countries.

On Wednesday, September 23, the President will greet His Excellency, Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China and Madame Peng Liyuan at Joint Base Andrews.

On Thursday morning, September 24, the President and First Lady will host a State Arrival Ceremony honoring His Excellency, Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China and Madame Peng Liyuan.

The ceremony, which will be held on the South Lawn, State Floor, and Rose Garden of the White House, will feature 479 military personnel, representing all branches of the United States Armed Forces.

As the arrival begins, the South Drive will be lined with the Armed Forces Full Honor Cordon leading to a national flag display of U.S. and China flags where the United States Army Herald Trumpets will present a fanfare on the South Portico as the President and First Lady welcome His Excellency Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan to the White House.

On the State Floor, “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band will play the national anthems of the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America, followed by remarks from both The President and His Excellency Xi Jinping.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joins CNBC ‘Squawk Box’ this morning to discuss his 12-hour meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.  Within the interview Bessent details the ‘U.S.-China AI Dialogue’, the calls for a slowdown in AI development and whether regulation is needed.

Secretary Bessent notes President Trump is not going to deliver liability immunity to AI frontier labs and existing legal frameworks within the U.S. will remain as protective pathways as development moves from AI labs into engineering outcomes.

This is the core of the issue. The investors that poured money into the AI labs, now support immunity from legal liability that doesn’t exist in any other sector other than Big Pharma. AI wants the same protection as Big Pharma, and President Trump is not going to allow the shift in responsibility from AI developers to government. WATCH:

Also below is the full debriefing from Secretary Bessent and USTR Jamieson Greer that followed the Sunday meeting between the U.S. and Chinese counterparts.

As CTH has noted, the pace of these critical economic developments is going to speed up over the next several days and weeks.  It becomes increasingly important to stay tuned-in to the granular issues as they unfold in order to fully appreciate the landscape that surrounds us.   It can be challenging to absorb information as the pace increases, yet it is critical to remain aware so that each building block in the nationalist policy making remains in context.

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Ahead of Chariman Xi’s visit to Washington DC for a state visit on September 24th and 25th, Reuters is reporting that China has asked Iran to halt all strikes on Saudi Arabia oil fields.

The request from China carries a self-interest as China’s oil dependencies have become problematic since the Strait of Hormuz became a point of economic friction between Iran and U.S. military forces. The Saudi East/West pipeline was also hit by Iranian backed Houthi rebels from Yemen, creating even more energy turmoil.

Additionally, Beijing is the most exposed to the recent congressional sanctions applied toward countries that retain trade relations with Russia.

Both President Trump and Chairman Xi have a vested interest in seeing an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. However, with EU-NATO still provoking expanded conflict the dynamic has become one of middle-powers (Canada, U.K, EU) against significant energy powers China, USA and Saudi Arabia.

Another way to look at it is the coalition of Green Energy nations -vs- Low Cost energy nations.

The U.K, Canada and Europe have been supporting attacks against gasoline and diesel fuel refineries in Russia. This approach appears to contain a political motivation to drive up gas/diesel prices in the USA as part of an anti-Trump election strategy. The state visit by Chairman Xi comes at a critical time in the global energy dynamic.

HOUSTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Friday after China, acting on a request from Saudi Arabia, asked Iran to limit attacks by Houthi rebels on Saudi oil infrastructure that have threatened a second oil export route in the Middle East.

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