It’s been a whirlwind week for US-China relations, with a flurry of high-level exchanges, ambitious diplomatic maneuvering, and new climate promises all unfolding against a backdrop of global uncertainty. At the center of it all: Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, whose phone conversation on September 19, 2025, set the tone for what could be a pivotal season in the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship.
According to reporting by Dow Jones & Company and other outlets, the Trump-Xi call covered a broad sweep of issues—trade, the smuggling of fentanyl opioids into the United States, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and, notably, the fate of TikTok’s US operations. Trump described the call as “very productive” on his social platform, Truth Social, and signaled that real progress had been made, especially regarding the future of TikTok and the potential for a new era of economic cooperation.
But the conversation didn’t stop at warm words. In an executive order issued on September 25, President Trump extended TikTok’s deadline to comply with a new US law regulating so-called “foreign adversary controlled applications” to December 16, 2025. The order requires that TikTok’s US operations be divested so they are majority-owned and controlled by US persons, with ByteDance Ltd.—the Chinese parent company—and its affiliates holding less than 20% of the new entity. In Trump’s words: “I have determined that the proposed divestiture would allow the millions of Americans who enjoy TikTok every day to continue using it while also protecting national security.” As of now, roughly 170 million Americans are active users of the app, a staggering number that underscores just how high the stakes are for both countries.
These developments come at a time when the US and China have been inching, sometimes haltingly, toward renewed engagement after years of tension and decoupling. The upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea this November is expected to be the stage for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Xi, with Trump announcing plans to visit China in early 2026 and Xi expected to reciprocate soon after. While these gestures signal a thaw, many underlying disputes—particularly US allegations of unfair Chinese trade practices—remain unresolved. Still, the momentum for dialogue is unmistakable.
In a sign of growing congressional interest, a bipartisan delegation from the US House of Representatives traveled to China on September 23-24, marking the first such visit since 2019. Led by Representative Adam Smith, a senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, the group met with a host of senior Chinese officials, including Premier Li Qiang, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Defence Minister Dong Jun, and Communist Party Secretary Cai Qi. As Smith explained at a Beijing news briefing, the goal was to “open up the lines of communication,” adding, “Our relationship is going to be the most consequential relationship in terms of what the world is going to be like for decades to come.”
Military-to-military communication was high on the agenda, a critical issue given the recent history of suspended talks. After then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 2022 visit to Taiwan—a move that infuriated Beijing and led to a year-long freeze in military dialogue—US-China military communications only resumed in August 2023, albeit with less frequency than before. The context is vital: China continues to assert itself in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, and just this month, Beijing staged a massive military parade showcasing new capabilities. The Diplomat recently noted that since the late 2010s, government-sponsored exchanges between the two nations have dwindled, a trend only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent political headwinds in both capitals.
Yet, if the mechanics of diplomacy are slowly restarting, the underlying tensions remain palpable—nowhere more so than on the question of Taiwan. According to Dow Jones & Company, Xi Jinping is pursuing what many see as his “ultimate prize”: a formal statement from President Trump that the US “opposes” Taiwan’s independence. This move, if successful, would mark a significant shift in American policy and could further isolate Taiwan on the international stage. The Chinese leadership’s hope is that the prospect of an economic accord with the US in the coming year might provide the necessary leverage to secure this diplomatic concession. For now, neither side has confirmed such a policy change, but the issue looms large over every interaction.
Meanwhile, the two countries’ relationship is also being tested by broader global challenges, not least the escalating climate crisis. During a special UN climate summit on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York in late September, China announced a new target: to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 7-10% from peak levels by 2035. While details remain scant, the announcement was met with a mix of relief and disappointment—relief that the world’s largest emitter is at least committing to new cuts, but disappointment at the modesty of the target, given the urgent need for more dramatic action. As pointed out by several climate analysts, the move subtly referenced the US’s own backsliding on climate under Trump in official Chinese statements, even as Beijing continues to pour investment into renewable energy and green technology.
The urgency of these commitments was underscored by the devastation wrought by Typhoon Ragasa, which recently battered China, the Philippines, and other parts of East Asia. The storm’s intensity, according to a broad scientific consensus, reflects the increasing ferocity of tropical cyclones in a warming world. With both countries facing the mounting costs of climate change, cooperation—or at least parallel action—on emissions is more critical than ever.
Amid all this, another layer of complexity emerged as China’s new K visa category made headlines. While full details are expected next week, early analysis suggests that the K visa could reshape the landscape for US citizens seeking to live and work in China, potentially mirroring or diverging from the current US visa regime. The move comes at a time when H-1B visa policies in the US are under scrutiny, adding yet another dimension to the already intricate web of people-to-people and economic ties between the two nations.
As the year hurtles toward the APEC Summit and beyond, both Washington and Beijing are weighing their next moves carefully. Xi’s pursuit of a US policy shift on Taiwan, Trump’s balancing act between national security and economic engagement, and the shared challenge of climate change all point to a relationship at a crossroads. With so much at stake—not just for the two superpowers, but for the world—it’s clear that the coming months will be anything but dull.
For now, the world waits to see whether this new season of dialogue can deliver more than just headlines, and whether the leaders of the US and China can find common ground amid the noise of rivalry and ambition.