Remarks: Donald Trump Gives Xi Jinping of China a Tour of the White House - September 24, 2026

[A White House staffer released two short clips on social media of Trump and Xi Jinping touring the White House. They are transcribed here without edits from the released version.]

Thank you very much. It's a great honor. President Xi, Madame Peng and the members of the Chinese delegation. I'm delighted -- to welcome you to the beautiful White House, such a great honor. In May, we had the great privilege of visiting you in Beijing, where you received our delegation with spectacular and very beautiful hospitality.

We'll go through the main entrance, okay? We're going through the front.

Trump, and then Trump, and this is the autopen. [Laughter]. Biden. It's Biden.

Now, Melania and I are honored to host you in Washington as President Xi becomes the first ever Chinese leader to make a second formal state visit to America. From the time of my first election in 2016, President Xi and I have forged a friendship, a truly great friendship, actually, built on mutual respect and the vital interests of our people.

[Crosstalk]

[Break in video clip]

We have spent time together all over the world, from Germany to Argentina, Japan to South Korea and Beijing to Palm Beach, Florida. But remarkably, this is our first time meeting together here at the White House. And as President Xi has already seen, a lot has changed since he was last here. President Xi and Madame Peng arrive at an important moment for America, the 250th anniversary of our founding.

We had a very good meeting. We had a great meeting, and he has great interest in granite. He likes, he likes granite. He's an expert on stone, aside from many other things, and he loves good granite. Thank you very much.

Who is that? [Points to photo of Trump and Xi] I don't recognize him. [Inaudible] That's great. Well, we have a lot of respect for you. We have these up. We've had that up for a year. A lot of respect.

Tomorrow, we will visit the National Archives to see some of the greatest treasures of that proud history, including the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We will also see artifacts testifying to the long and cherished relationship of really something that's so incredible and cultural exchanges between China and the United States, just as our ancestors reached across the ocean centuries ago to trade, to learn, and to build a better world.

[Laughs] I said you're an expert.

Our two countries do really the same thing, and we're very proud of it and the relationship. Working together, President Xi and I have made tremendous strides on the issues facing our two countries. During my last visit last May, we created the Board of Trade, and through that, it's a brand new mechanism and was something that's been unbelievably successful.

Our teams have been working to encourage a more balanced trading relationship, including the new market access for American farmers and ranchers. During this visit, we will also discuss pressing issues concerning security, technology and superintelligence, SI. The decisions we make in these areas today can promote peace and prosperity for decades and decades to come.

If we focus on our common interests, I'm confident there is much we can achieve. Throughout history, pursuit of those common interests has connected our people across the vast oceans as those big, tremendous distances and many differences, and even made US allies in World War II. Look at the greatness that we had together fighting in World War II. Brave American pilots volunteered to come to China and fight for the very survival of the legendary country and that legendary Flying Tigers group.

They were just unbelievable. And it was the United States Marines encounter with Chinese people that inspired the Marines to adopt a Chinese phrase they still use today, gung ho. The Marines use it as an expression of great enthusiasm, but in Chinese, it literally means working together. Just as our people worked together to win that war, President Xi and I will continue working together to forge a better future for both of our nations.

President Xi, Madame Peng, thank you once again for making this historic visit and welcome to the United States of America. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping.

[Via interpreter] Honorable President Donald J. Trump and Mrs. Melania Trump, members of the US delegation, ladies and gentlemen -- Dear friends, I'm very glad to pay a state visit to your beautiful country, the United States of America. Thank you, President Trump and Mrs. Trump, for the warm hospitality you have extended to me and my wife.

[Via interpreter] On behalf of the 1.4 billion and more Chinese people, I wish to begin by extending sincere greetings to the American people and a warm congratulations on the 250th anniversary of the US independence. Both China and the United States are great countries, and both the Chinese and American peoples are great peoples.

[Via interpreter] I am visiting the United States at President Trump's invitation to carry on our friendship, expand cooperation, and promote the well-being of both our peoples. Facing the changes in our world, in our times and of historical significance today, China and the United States, as two major countries, shoulder a historic responsibility of advancing human development and progress.

[Via interpreter] Mr. President, during your visit to China this year, we agreed to build a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability. And this is widely welcomed by the people of our two countries and the international community. I am ready to work with you to steer the giant ship of China-US relationship on a steady course toward the future.

[Via interpreter] We should strengthen communication. China and the United States are different in national conditions; but through candid, in-depth and continued dialog, our two countries can understand each other better, seek common ground while shelving differences and build up mutual trust. President Trump and I have respect for each other.

[Via interpreter] We have built personal rapport and stayed in touch. We encourage our government departments, such as those in charge of foreign affairs, economic matters, financial cooperation, law enforcement and people-to-people exchanges, to catch up on strengthening contact. And we support our legislative bodies in increasing exchanges.

[Via interpreter] We should cooperate with sincerity. The interests of China and the United States are deeply intertwined, and there is plenty of room for us to work together. China-US cooperation may not solve every problem in the world, but without our cooperation, it would be hard to solve many of the world's problems.

[Via interpreter] China keeps its door wide open, welcomes American companies wanting to invest and do business there. We hope Chinese companies are treated fairly here in the United States. Working together, we can lengthen the list of cooperation and shorten the list of issues. Both China and the United States are leading nations in artificial intelligence.

[Via interpreter] We have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good and ensure that the development of AI is always under human control and serves the well-being of the people. On counter-narcotics and law enforcement, the Chinese side is willing to strengthen cooperation with the United States.

[Via interpreter] Our two sides may also increase direct flights to facilitate two-way travel and trade. We should coexist in peace. As I have said many times, China and the United States, as two major countries, stand to gain from cooperation and will both lose in confrontation. We do not need to avoid mentioning competition, but our competition should be a healthy one and should be kept within bounds.

[Via interpreter] It should be a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which one either wins or loses. China and the United States must hold the line of no conflict and no confrontation between us. And we can certainly find the right path for our two great countries to get along on this planet we both call home.

[Via interpreter] Our two militaries should maintain regular dialog and improve mechanisms for crisis communication and prevention. The Thucydides Trap can be overcome. Like President Trump mentioned earlier, during the Second World War, Chinese and Americans fought shoulder to shoulder against fascist aggression. Chinese people have never forgotten that part of history, nor have the American people.

[Via interpreter] The hope of China-US relationship lies in our people, and its future lies with the young. I am glad -- to announce an invitation for 100,000 young Americans to visit China for exchanges and study in the coming five years. The giant panda has been an envoy of friendship between the Chinese and Americans. Here, I have a piece of good news.

[Via interpreter] In a few days, two pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will come to their new home in Zoo Atlanta and meet with the American people. Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand. Let us meet the people's expectation and show our historical initiative.

[Via interpreter] Let us keep advancing the cause of friendship between our two peoples and work together to build a better world. Thank you.