Xi Jinping returns to Washington as China’s economic and military capabilities have expanded since his 2015 US visit.
China’s share of exports to the US has fallen while its total exports and reach into other global markets have grown.
Trump and Xi face unresolved tensions over trade, Taiwan, technology, cyberattacks and the South China Sea.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is returning to Washington more than a decade after his last state visit, but the balance of power between China and the United States has changed considerably since he stood alongside then-President Barack Obama in 2015.
Xi arrived in Washington on Wednesday for his first state visit to the US capital in more than a decade, seeking stability at a time when Beijing and Washington are competing over trade, artificial intelligence, military capabilities, space and global influence. According to Associated Press, Xi is expected to press for cooperation with the US while also representing a China that has expanded its economic, industrial and military capabilities since his previous visit.
“In 2015, China was a rising power still, profoundly and quickly rising, but rising undeniably,” said Mira Rapp-Hooper, a visiting fellow at Brookings Institution’s Center for Asia Policy Studies. Now, “China is risen.”
When Xi visited Washington in 2015, he sought to ease growing American concerns about China’s rapid economic rise. In the White House Rose Garden, Obama said the US “welcomes the rise of a China that is peaceful, stable, prosperous and a responsible player in global affairs.”
The relationship is now considerably more competitive.
China has reduced its reliance on the US
Both the US and Chinese economies have expanded since 2015, although the US continues to maintain a strong economic advantage. China, however, has developed capabilities that can check the US and has shown a greater willingness to use them, according to Sun Yun, director of the China programme at the Stimson Center.
That was on display last year when China matched President Donald Trump’s 125% tariffs, nearly freezing trade and leveraging a near-monopoly in processing critical minerals — crucial for products from smartphones to fighter jets — to force the US to stand down, Associated Press reported.
“In the past, China was disadvantaged in terms of strength, and it was not an equal to the U.S.,” Sun said. “But now it is considered a near-peer.”
China has also reduced the share of its exports going to the US. In 2015, the US was China’s largest export market, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the country’s $2.3 trillion in exports.
The US remains China’s top export destination, but its share has fallen to 11% of China’s global exports, which rose to more than $3.7 trillion in 2025.
The shift has partly come as US purchases from China have fallen because of higher tariffs, while China has increased exports to other markets. Beijing has also moved further up the global value chain in manufacturing.
In 2015, China launched a national strategy focused on advanced manufacturing and investment in key sectors. According to an analysis last year by Rhodium Group, a research provider that tracks China’s economy and policy, the strategy has helped China reduce its dependence on imports in areas including memory chips and medical devices.
Chinese companies have also become more competitive globally in industries including drones, electric vehicles, clean technologies and shipbuilding.
“There’s an undeniable sense of China’s progress on the global stage,” said Kurt Campbell, a former veteran US diplomat who is now chair of The Asia Group, a strategic advisory firm. “China is not arriving. It has arrived.”
Industrial expansion has strengthened China’s military
China’s manufacturing capacity has also contributed to its growing military capabilities.
Its shipbuilding industry has enabled Beijing to build the world’s largest fleet by number of vessels, including a sophisticated aircraft carrier and advanced amphibious assault ships, said Matthew P. Funaiole, a senior fellow for the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The US Navy, however, retains an advantage in overall tonnage and weapons systems, he said.
China has also developed fifth-generation fighter jets and expanded the fleet to hundreds. According to a RAND report, China had none in 2015.
Beijing’s space programme has also expanded over the past decade. In 2019, China became the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon. It now operates one of the two space stations in orbit and is the only other country besides the US to have a space force.
The Pentagon has described the expansion of China’s military capabilities as a growing security concern for the US.
“China maintains a large and growing arsenal of nuclear, maritime, conventional long-range strike, cyber, and space capabilities able to directly threaten Americans’ security,” the latest Pentagon report on China’s military powers said.
That was a shift from the assessment in 2015, when the Pentagon warned that “China’s military modernization has the potential to reduce core U.S. military technological advantages.”
Concerns raised in 2015 remain unresolved
Many of the issues discussed during Xi’s 2015 visit remain central to US-China relations.
At the time, Washington raised concerns about a level playing field for American companies operating in China, intellectual property protection, cyber threats and freedom of navigation in the South and East China Seas.
Xi told Obama that “China is making all-around efforts to deepen comprehensive reform, to build law-based governance, to enforce strict party discipline.”
He also said Beijing would manage differences in the South China Sea “through dialogue” and told Obama that “China does not intend to pursue militarization” there.
According to Associated Press, many of those issues remain unresolved or have worsened. US companies continue to seek greater market access in China, while concerns over Chinese cyberattacks have increased. Tensions in the South China Sea have also risen alongside an expanded Chinese military presence.
Xi remains in office after purging political rivals, abolishing presidential term limits and consolidating power. In the US, voters returned Trump to the White House.
Taiwan has also become a more prominent point of disagreement.
Xi made no mention of Taiwan during his Rose Garden remarks in 2015. But when hosting Trump in Beijing in May, Xi warned of “clashes and even conflicts” if the US mishandled the self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own.
This week, Xi is expected to press Trump to further delay an arms sales package to Taiwan.
Trump set to welcome Xi at Joint Base Andrews
Trump is preparing to receive Xi in Washington on Wednesday evening, with the US president expected to greet the Chinese leader on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews.
Associated Press reported that the move is unusual because visiting leaders typically drive up to the White House rather than being welcomed directly at the military base.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters hours before Xi arrived that the two leaders need to interact because the US and China are “the two largest economies in the world” and “probably the two most powerful militaries in the world.”
Trump has also emphasised his relationship with Xi. First lady Melania Trump told Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” that the president was greeting Xi planeside because of their “great relationship.”
“He’s coming on our soil, and we need to welcome them with the most respect,” she said.
The contrast between Xi’s two Washington visits reflects the changes in China’s position over the past decade. In 2015, Beijing was dealing with concerns over its rapid rise while still facing significant gaps with the US. Today, China has expanded its export markets, strengthened its manufacturing base and developed greater military and technological capabilities.
Associated Press reported that Xi’s return comes as the two countries seek stability while competing across the economy, technology, military affairs and global influence.
