The Chinese leader is hoping to capitalise on the success of the recent agreement on TikTok’s future in the US and Mr Trump’s desire to secure a favourable trade deal to pressure Washington to abandon its support for Taipei.
The pair have several meetings planned for the coming months. Last week, Mr Trump said the men were looking forward to meeting at an economic summit in South Korea next month.
Mr Trump is also expected to visit Beijing in early 2026, which would be seen as a diplomatic achievement for Mr Xi. The Chinese leader will visit the White House at a later date.
Mr Xi is planning to use the upcoming meetings to attempt to convince Mr Trump to declare that the US is against an independent Taiwan, sources told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
China maintains that Taiwan is part of its territory and views the 110-mile Taiwan Strait as under its jurisdiction. Mr Xi has repeatedly said nobody can stop China’s “reunification” with Taiwan.
It has led Beijing to stage war games in the area and, in doing so, ramp up the pressure on Taiwan militarily, economically and diplomatically.
The change in rhetoric would signal an about-turn in US policy. In the weeks after Mr Trump returned to office, the US government appeared to bolster its support for Taipei.
The state department removed a Biden-era statement from its website saying it did not support Taiwan’s independence, a move praised by Taiwan’s government, while insisting the US opposed “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side”.
But Mr Trump blocked more than $400m in military aid to Taiwan this summer amid ongoing trade negotiations with China, signalling a potential shift in Washington.
In August, Mr Trump said Mr Xi had promised him that China would not invade Taiwan during his administration, adding: “China is very patient”.
Mr Xi has been using Russia’s battlefield expertise to prepare for a potential invasion of Taiwan, for which Western intelligence believes Beijing could be ready by 2027.
On Friday, it emerged that leaked documents suggested that Moscow had agreed to train and equip Chinese paratroopers for a possible aerial assault on Taiwan.
Under the agreement, Beijing is to buy dozens of military vehicles and parachute systems to drop heavy loads from high altitudes, with troops taught to operate them.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesman at the Chinese Embassy in the US, told the WSJ that “China firmly opposes any form of official exchanges or military ties” between the US and Taiwan.
