Xi Jinping Begins U.S. State Visit, OceanEye Alliance Launch and EU-CELAC Roadmap

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said President Xi Jinping left Beijing on September 23 for a state visit to the United States at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House separately recorded an arrival ceremony with the Chinese president on September 23.

The visit was scheduled to continue through September 25, with the formal White House State Arrival Ceremony and principal state-visit programme set for September 24. The September 23 record therefore marks the beginning and arrival phase of the visit rather than the outcome of the leaders’ formal meetings.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen officially launched the OceanEye International Alliance for the Global Ocean Observing System in New York on September 23 during UN General Assembly High-Level Week.

The event secured more than C$339 million, or €211 million, in financial and in-kind pledges. Canada pledged C$82 million over five years and the EU pledged €92 million. The support is intended to maintain observation platforms, close data gaps, strengthen GOOS coordination and reinforce data-reporting capacity used for safe navigation, weather forecasting, coastal protection and the blue economy.

Foreign ministers of the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States endorsed a new CELAC-EU Roadmap in New York on September 23 during the UN General Assembly High-Level Week.

The roadmap translates the 2025 CELAC-EU Summit Joint Declaration into forward-looking actions. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said the plan is intended to deepen cooperation on shared values and multilateralism, security and organised crime, and green, digital and just transitions.

A joint declaration delivered in New York on September 23 on behalf of Ukraine, the European Union and a broad group of partner countries called for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire and renewed diplomatic negotiations toward peace.

The declaration also expressed concern over attacks in the Black Sea and supported an arrangement to safeguard freedom of navigation and protect commercial shipping and critical infrastructure. It called for the return of detained, transferred or deported Ukrainian civilians, prisoners of war and internees.

Canada announced on September 23 that it was imposing additional sanctions on five individuals and five entities under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations.

Global Affairs Canada said the measures target senior Iranian security and government officials and state-directed entities that Canada associates with digital repression and serious human-rights violations, including surveillance, censorship, violence, detention and intimidation. Canada said the action aligns with measures taken by like-minded partners.

The European Commission announced on September 23 a €505 million financial-support package for Lebanon for 2026 and 2027, representing the second half of the €1 billion package announced in 2024.

The tranche will support essential services and vulnerable people, economic recovery and institutional reforms, security and border management, private-sector resilience, civil society and social cohesion. The Commission said implementation will be carried out with Lebanese authorities, UN agencies, international organisations and civil-society partners.