China, US stay in touch as Xi's September Washington visit stays on course

Beijing,UPDATED: Jul 20, 2026 17:32 IST

China said on Monday that it is in touch with the United States over the planned September visit of President Xi Jinping to Washington, indicating that the trip remains on course despite fresh strains in ties after President Donald Trump accused Beijing of interfering in American elections.

The comments came as US Secretary Marco Rubio also expressed confidence that the visit would go ahead. Beijing said the two sides had stayed in contact over arrangements for interactions between the two leaders later this year, while also pushing back against Trump’s allegations.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing in Beijing, “Head-of-state diplomacy provides irreplaceable strategic guidance for US-China relations.” He said the two sides had “maintained communication regarding the arrangements for the heads of state's interactions later this year”.

On Sunday, Rubio struck an optimistic note before leaving for the Philippines to attend a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers. “We anticipate that the trip is happening in September,” Rubio said.

“They've continued to send over their teams to prepare for it, and I've heard nothing otherwise,” he said of the Chinese side. “I have no reason to believe that they won't be coming,” he told the media, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.

Rubio was expected to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who will also be in the Philippines for the ASEAN meeting. Lin said Wang will attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila on July 22, but declined to confirm whether he would meet Rubio on the sidelines.

Lin also said Wang will attend the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, from July 23 to 25.

Earlier reports had said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu was expected to visit Washington and Miami to prepare the ground for Xi’s US visit.

The proposed visit came under a cloud after Trump alleged that China had meddled in the US presidential elections through the “illicit acquisition” of 220 million voter files, including personal information.

China rejected the allegation, calling it fabricated and a malicious smear, and asked Trump to stop making what it described as baseless claims. Lin had told the media in Beijing on Friday that China has always followed the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and has neither any interest in nor ever interfered in US elections.

During Trump’s visit to Beijing last year, he had invited Xi to make a reciprocal visit to the US in September, and the Chinese president accepted the invitation.

Chinese analysts have said Trump’s latest allegations could derail Xi’s planned visit. Zhao Minghao, a professor at Fudan University’s Institute of Studies, said Trump appeared to have taken a harder line on China since returning from his Beijing trip in May, amid criticism at home that he had gone soft on China.

Trump had also spoken out against communism in a speech a week earlier. “All these will have some impact on US-China relations,” Zhao told the Post. “Trump's purpose is, on one hand, to display toughness on China. And on the other, it's also with an eye on this year's midterm elections.” He said the attacks could complicate Xi’s possible US visit.

For now, both Beijing and Washington have indicated that preparations for Xi’s September visit are continuing, even as the latest exchange over election interference has added to tensions between the two sides.

With PTI Inputs

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