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ExclusiveChina rattled by Trump White House chaos weeks ahead of Xi visit. It has happened before

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Dewey SimandKhushboo RazdanPublished: 7:30am, 15 Aug 2026Updated: 7:58am, 15 Aug 2026

Just months ago, disorganised planning from Washington in the lead-up to US President Donald Trump’s landmark China visit frustrated Chinese officials. Now, Beijing is watching the same story play out on the other side of the world.

With less than six weeks until Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned trip to Washington – his first state visit since 2015 – Beijing finds itself increasingly unsettled by the chaos within the Trump administration.

Sources told the South China Morning Post that Chinese officials were once again confronting a disorganised Trump administration that lacked planning and coordination, with little progress made on hammering out deliverables for the leaders’ summit.

This time, according to the sources, the anxiety runs deeper as the summit will take place on foreign soil.

One person with knowledge of the preparations said that no US official or agency had thus far assumed responsibility for organising the visit, leaving officials on both sides largely engaged in routine preparations without clear leadership.

As was the case with Trump’s trip to Beijing, when the Treasury Department and US Trade Representative played the central roles, the State Department has so far remained largely uninvolved.

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