A Chinese diplomat warned that Washington must not violate specific boundaries regarding human rights and Taiwan before President Xi Jinping visits the White House on September 24. The two nations spent weeks coordinating the logistical details of the summit, though officials avoided addressing the primary tensions between the two superpowers in their preliminary discussions. Beijing is specifically pushing the U.S. to halt arms sales to Taiwan, including a frozen $14 billion weapons package.

The high-stakes visit arrives as Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker publicly broke from the president's party to criticize Donald Trump's plans for hosting Xi. In the lead-up to the meeting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice Premier He Lifeng held trade talks in New York to maintain a truce involving $30 billion in tariff cuts that expires on Nov. 10.