President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to begin three days of high-stakes diplomatic talks in Washington today, navigating a complex web of economic, technological, and geopolitical friction.

The state visit—Xi’s first to the U-S capital in over a decade—begins with an unprecedented greeting on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews by President Trump, setting the stage for formal White House bilateral meetings on Thursday.

Top of the agenda is the upcoming November deadline for the U-S-China trade truce, with both nations seeking to prevent a return to steep tit-for-tat tariffs. The leaders are also expected to discuss access to critical rare-earth minerals, artificial intelligence competition, ongoing security concerns surrounding Taiwan, and the broader economic impacts of conflict in the Middle East.

While officials from both sides downplay expectations of a major sweeping agreement, the meeting marks a critical effort to stabilize ties between the world’s two largest economies.