Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on Wednesday (September 23, 2026), where he was to be met with a rare planeside greeting from U.S. President Donald Trump, who was there to welcome his counterpart on the tarmac instead of waiting for him to drive up to the White House.

Mr. Trump’s decision to greet Mr. Xi at Joint Base Andrews just outside Washington rather than receiving him at the executive residence shows how far the U.S. President is going to honour China’s leader as he made his first state visit to the U.S. capital in more than a decade.

The U.S. President and first lady Melania Trump were at the base to participate in an arrival ceremony for Mr. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan. The salutation kicks off a three-day visit that’s expected to be saturated with pomp, even by White House standards. The state visit, complete with a formal state dinner at the White House on Thursday, is supposed to reciprocate the ceremonial grandeur that marked Mr. Trump’s May visit to China.

But it is also a showy patina at a time when tensions between the two geopolitical rivals are high over trade, artificial intelligence, Trump’s war with Iran and China’s designs on Taiwan.

The visit comes after Mr. Trump’s trip to China in May

Beyond using the visit to try to keep “strategic stability” between the two countries, Mr. Trump seems to be pulling out all the diplomatic stops to show off for Mr. Xi. Mr. Trump has lavished praise on Mr. Xi as a “great leader” and described a warm relationship with the man he has called a friend. That is all while he has given Mr. Xi a pass on many issues.

Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticised the “lavish welcome.” Wicker, R-Miss, said during a speech Tuesday (September 22) in the Senate that Mr. Trump should not have invited the Chinese leader “based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.”

Mr. Wicker archly suggested a list of topics that Mr. Trump could discuss with Mr. Xi at the state dinner, such as “the purposes of China’s massive military buildup, or about China’s clear support for Iran,” saying that “during every minute of dialogue” Mr. Trump should keep in mind that “his guest is a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbours and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. and China must interact at the highest levels because the countries are “the two largest economies in the world” and “probably the two most powerful militaries in the world.”

“The idea that we would not interact with them at the highest levels is irresponsible. It’s outrageous. We have to,” Rubio told reporters Wednesday (September 23) while he was in New York.

Trump to welcome Xi with the most respect

Mr. Trump has made it clear he wants to wow Mr. Xi, telling reporters in recent weeks that he was delighted his new “work of art” helicopter landing pad would be ready for the visit while bemoaning that his massive White House ballroom would not.

Mr. Trump on Wednesday (September 23) was looking to match the pageantry he was met with in China earlier this year. Xi was not at the airport to meet Trump — Chinese Vice President Han Zheng was there instead. But a red carpet was rolled out to meet Air Force One in Beijing. A military honour guard, a military band and about 300 Chinese youths waving Chinese and American flags and chanting, “Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome!” were also present. The children wore white and light blue uniforms that mirrored the traditional paint colours of the presidential plane.

Ms. Trump said earlier Wednesday (September 23) that her husband decided to personally greet Mr. Xi when he arrived in the Washington region because “they have a great relationship.”

“He’s coming on our soil, and we need to welcome them with the most respect,” she said of Mr. Xi and his wife during an interview on Fox News Channel’.

A black-tie dinner and visit to the archives will follow

Mr. Trump’s airport ceremony for Mr. Xi will be followed on Thursday (September 24) by more formalities, including an arrival ceremony at the White House and a review of troops. Before the black-tie dinner, which will feature tech industry leaders like Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, the two leaders are expected to dive into the weighty issues behind closed doors, even as expectations are low that the trip will produce any major breakthroughs in the relationship.

On Friday (September 25), Mr. Xi and Ms. Peng will be back at the White House for a private tea with the Trumps before joining them on a tour of the National Archives in Washington. The White House has said they will view historic documents underscoring the relationship between the two countries.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has called for stronger multilateral cooperation and reforms in global institutions, warning that the international order is facing growing pressure from intense competition, geopolitical tensions and ongoing conflicts.

Speaking at the Partners for Multilateralism, International Law, Peace & Prosperity (P4M) Summit in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Jaishankar said multilateralism must be reinforced to uphold international cooperation and address emerging global challenges. The summit was co-chaired by Mr. Jaishankar and European Council President António Costa.

“The 4F crisis of Fuel, Food, Fertiliser and Finance cannot be left to itself,” Mr. Jaishankar noted. “Where there is a threat of chokepoint dominance and disruption, de-risking and diversifying must be encouraged. And where there is a compelling cause or a powerful case, the like-minded must have the confidence to come together,” he added. He also said that multilateralism will be best served when international law, rules and norms are scrupulously observed.

EAM Jaishankar reiterated that more participative deliberations and transparent decision-making are overdue.

The P4M initiative, founded by leaders of the European Union, Brazil, Kenya and Canada, is expected to make a pitch for the grouping at the UN General Assembly’s “high-level debate” session this week. In a joint editorial also said that the ‘Partners for Multilateralism ’ would not create another exclusive bloc or international bureaucracy.

“Its purpose is the opposite: to create a flexible, open framework for countries from different regions and political traditions that are willing to work across divides, to build coalitions for reform and to translate shared principles into practical action,” the co-authors wrote, pointing out that 2025 saw the highest recorded number of state-based armed conflicts since 1946, in 35 countries, and the highest recorded military spending of nearly $3 trillion. 

India and the four-member Visegrad group of Central European countries on Monday (September 21, 2026) agreed to step up political, economic and defence cooperation at their first Foreign Ministers’ meeting, which External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar described as a “new historic occasion”.

The Visegrad Group (V4) is a cultural and political alliance of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia that aims to advance cooperation in military, economic, cultural, and energy affairs.

The first meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the Visegrad Group and India was held on Monday (September 21, 2026), on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

Mr Jaishankar met with Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radek Sikorski; Hungary’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Anita Orban; Slovakia’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Juraj Blanar; and the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, Petr Macinka.

“It was, in a sense, a new historic occasion,” Mr. Jaishankar said in remarks after the meeting.

“It was a very, very productive meeting. What we agreed was that since India’s relationship with the European Union itself is deepening, with the V4 we would take some special initiatives to create an annual business forum,” he said, adding that there was “consensus” that the Foreign Ministers of the five nations in the group would meet annually.

“We would also explore technology and innovation whether we could be doing more. We have a very strong history with all the V4 countries in defence. We want to refresh and take forward that record and that cooperation,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

The group also discussed issues including space, connectivity, and people-to-people mobility.

Mr. Jaishankar said the meeting was “very worthwhile” and “very productive”, with discussions focusing on cooperation as well as major global crises, including the Ukraine conflict and developments in the Gulf.

“It was really a very, very worthwhile, very productive meeting. I’m very pleased about it,” he said in remarks to reporters after the meeting.

In a post on X, Mr. Jaishankar said the first meeting in the V4+India format agreed to closer political cooperation, including annual meetings of foreign ministers, and deeper economic cooperation, including the Annual Business Forum.

The countries also agreed to strengthen technology, innovation, research and education partnerships; reinvigorate defence cooperation; further develop cultural cooperation and people-to-people relations and work together to support multilateralism, he said.

Mr. Jaishankar also said that India has “very good” relations with the V4 countries.

“These are countries with a very strong, very distinctive capability. These are industrial economies, economies with great innovation and technology talent, and I think how the V4 come together is for them to decide. But we certainly welcome the opportunity to work with the V4 together,” he told reporters.

The Trump administration has approved visas for top Iranian officials, including the President and Foreign Minister, to attend next week’s UN General Assembly high-level meeting in New York even as the two countries are locked in a stalemated war.

The State Department said on Thursday (September 17, 2026) that it had approved visas for Iran’s “core delegation,” along with essential staffers to participate in the UN meetings. The core delegation includes President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to visa privacy laws.

The move is unusual due to the more than six-month-long conflict between Iran and the United States and no sign that agreements to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or return to talks on Iran’s nuclear program are close. It also comes as Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have stepped up attacks on Saudi infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea, another major maritime route in the region where impediments have helped drive a surge in global oil prices.

In addition, Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, according to the United States, which has imposed significant sanctions against the country and launched a new campaign in recent weeks aimed at severing “critical financial lifelines.”

As the host country for the United Nations headquarters, the U.S. is generally limited in what it can do to prevent foreign leaders from coming to the General Assembly. However, it has in the past denied visas to — or discouraged applications from — leaders involved in active conflicts with the United States.

For last year’s UN meetings of world leaders — which took place before the Iran war began on Feb. 28 but after the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025 — the State Department also approved a limited number of visas for Iranian diplomats but also imposed rigid restrictions on the delegation’s movements.

Those included severe limitations on how far Iranian officials could travel in New York City from their UN mission and barred them from shopping at wholesale membership stores, such as Costco and Sam’s Club.

The decision on the Iranian visas was announced just a day after the State Department denied visas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation to come to the General Assembly.

“Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend UN General Assembly High Level Week,” the State Department said. “The delegation will be under travel restrictions and will face prohibitions on the purchase of luxury and other goods per our policy. The delegation is smaller than last year.”

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel from New York to Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (September 25, 2025), as the two sides made a renewed push to reset their bilateral relations.

Mr. Shehbaz is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly session. He will briefly travel from New York to Washington to meet President Trump, The Express Tribune newspaper reported on Wednesday (September 24, 2025), citing diplomatic sources.

He will return to New York on the same day to continue his UNGA engagements, it added.

It will be the first meeting between the U.S. President and the Pakistani Prime Minister at the White House since July 2019, when then-Prime Minister Imran Khan travelled to Washington and met President Trump.

Mr. Trump’s successor, President Joe Biden, completely ignored Pakistan during his tenure and never even talked to any of the prime ministers on the phone, let alone inviting them to the White House.

However, since President Trump took office in January, there has been a dramatic and unexpected shift in the Pakistan-U.S. relationship.

The upcoming Trump-Shehbaz meeting comes against the backdrop of a noticeable thaw in relations between Islamabad and Washington.

In June, Mr. Trump held a rare one-on-one meeting with Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir at the White House, a signal that the Biden administration’s frosty approach had given way to Mr. Trump’s more transactional but open style of engagement with Pakistan.

Diplomatic observers see the Shehbaz-Trump huddle as a continuation of that reset.

“The optics of the army chief’s meeting in June were significant. This meeting institutionalises that opening,” a senior Pakistani official familiar with the process told the paper.

Officials in Islamabad believe the meeting will focus on bilateral ties, regional and international issues, including Afghanistan, counterterrorism cooperation, and trade opportunities.

Analysts, however, said that while Trump appears keen to engage Islamabad, the reset remains tentative.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Tuesday (September 23, 2025) against allowing an approach of “survival of the fittest” to take hold in international relations as he addressed the UN General Assembly.

Mr. Macron also mounted a defence of the current international order after U.S. President Donald Trump savaged the United Nations in a speech to the organization’s General Assembly.

“That is the major risk of our time… a risk of seeing the survival of the fittest. It is the risk of seeing the selfishness of a few prevail,” he said.

“The world’s complexity is not a reason to throw in the towel on our principles and our ambitions. To a certain extent, ours is a moment of paradox. We need more than ever before to restore the spirit of cooperation that prevailed 80 years ago.”

He said that the UN’s “harshest critics are also those that want to change the rule of the game, because they want to exert domination.”

In his speech, Mr. Macron also justified his diplomatic efforts in support of Ukraine and his recognition of a Palestinian state, which he announced Monday from the same podium.

“It’s because there is this refusal of double standards that France will stand side by side with Ukraine, as we do for peace in the Middle East,” he said.

Mr. Macron reserved praise for Mr. Trump after the U.S. leader’s apparent shift on Ukraine, suggesting for the first time he thought Kyiv could not only recapture its original territory — but possibly go further.

“I welcome the fact that the president of the USA believes in Ukraine’s ability,” Mr. Macron said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the visas of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials ahead of next month’s annual high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly, where the Palestinians previously have been represented.

A State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss visa issues that are normally confidential, disclosed Friday (August 29, 2025) that Abbas and other officials from the Palestinian Authority were among those affected.

The move is the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to target Palestinians with visa restrictions and comes as the Israeli military declared Gaza’s largest city a combat zone. The State Department also suspended a program that had allowed injured Palestinian children from Gaza to come to the U.S. for medical treatment after a social media outcry by some conservatives.

The department said in a statement earlier that Mr. Rubio also ordered some new visa applications from Palestinian officials, including those tied to the Palestine Liberation Organisation, be denied.

“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” the statement said.

It said that to be considered partners for peace, the groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by U.S. law and as promised by the PLO.”

The State Department didn’t specify how many visas had been revoked or how many applications had been denied, or give details beyond its statement.

The Palestinian Authority denounced the visa withdrawals as a violation of U.S. commitments as the host country of the United Nations and urged the State Department to reverse its decision.

It said in a statement that the Palestinian presidency “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, which “contravenes international law and the Headquarters Agreement, especially since the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations.”

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification from the State Department.

“We obviously hope that this will be resolved,” he said. “It is important that all member states, permanent observers be able to be represented.”

The State Department said representatives assigned to the Palestinian Authority mission at the United Nations would be granted waivers under the U.S. host country agreement with the UN so they can continue their New York-based operations.

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters Friday (August 29, 2025) that Abbas planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the General Assembly — as he has done for many years.

He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on September 22 about a two-state solution, which calls for Israel living side-by-side with an independent Palestine.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the visas of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials ahead of next month’s annual high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly, where the Palestinians previously have been represented.

A State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss visa issues that are normally confidential, disclosed Friday (August 29, 2025) that Abbas and other officials from the Palestinian Authority were among those affected.

The move is the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to target Palestinians with visa restrictions and comes as the Israeli military declared Gaza’s largest city a combat zone. The State Department also suspended a program that had allowed injured Palestinian children from Gaza to come to the U.S. for medical treatment after a social media outcry by some conservatives.

The department said in a statement earlier that Mr. Rubio also ordered some new visa applications from Palestinian officials, including those tied to the Palestine Liberation Organisation, be denied.

“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” the statement said.

It said that to be considered partners for peace, the groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by U.S. law and as promised by the PLO.”

The State Department didn’t specify how many visas had been revoked or how many applications had been denied, or give details beyond its statement.

The Palestinian Authority denounced the visa withdrawals as a violation of U.S. commitments as the host country of the United Nations and urged the State Department to reverse its decision.

It said in a statement that the Palestinian presidency “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, which “contravenes international law and the Headquarters Agreement, especially since the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations.”

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification from the State Department.

“We obviously hope that this will be resolved,” he said. “It is important that all member states, permanent observers be able to be represented.”

The State Department said representatives assigned to the Palestinian Authority mission at the United Nations would be granted waivers under the U.S. host country agreement with the UN so they can continue their New York-based operations.

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters Friday (August 29, 2025) that Abbas planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the General Assembly — as he has done for many years.

He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on September 22 about a two-state solution, which calls for Israel living side-by-side with an independent Palestine.