Xi Jinping U.S. State Visit, P4M Launch and EU-Australia FTA Conclusion

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on September 21 that President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to the United States from September 23 to 25 at the invitation of President Donald Trump. The White House separately published the visit programme, including Xi’s arrival at Joint Base Andrews on September 23 and a state arrival ceremony and state dinner at the White House on September 24.

China’s foreign ministry said the two presidents are expected to exchange views on major bilateral and international issues. The September 21 announcements establish the timing and formal status of the visit but do not report negotiated outcomes or agreements from the forthcoming meetings.

Leaders from Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, India and Kenya launched the Partners for Multilateralism initiative on September 21 on the margins of the UN General Assembly High-Level Week. Their declaration commits the initial co-sponsors to regular exchanges and practical cooperation in support of international law, peace, sustainable development and reform of multilateral institutions.

The declaration also addresses economic interdependence, trade and supply-chain risk. It calls for fair, open, resilient and predictable economic cooperation, more diversified and resilient global supply chains, reform of the multilateral trading system and international financial architecture, and closer coordination on digital transformation, artificial intelligence, climate and global health.

European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met on September 21 on the margins of the UN General Assembly. The leaders welcomed the conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement and said they looked forward to its signature as soon as possible.

Their joint release also recorded progress on Australia’s proposed association to Horizon Europe, implementation of the EU-Australia Security and Defence Partnership, cooperation on critical raw materials ahead of a Team Europe business mission to Australia in October, and further work on economic coercion, non-market practices and critical and emerging technologies.

The foreign ministers of Japan, the United States and the Republic of Korea met in New York on September 21 during UNGA81. Japan’s foreign ministry said the three governments welcomed progress in joint exercises and cyber security and in economic-security and energy cooperation, including supply-chain resilience and cooperation on small modular reactors.

The ministers also reaffirmed coordination on North Korea, discussed regional security and the Taiwan Strait, and agreed to continue concrete trilateral cooperation. The meeting followed earlier trilateral engagements during 2026 and referenced an existing framework for SMR cooperation rather than announcing a new reactor agreement on September 21.

ASEAN Economic Ministers and China’s Ministry of Commerce held their 25th consultation in Manila on September 21. The joint statement recorded 2025 two-way merchandise trade of US$913 billion and Chinese foreign direct investment inflows to ASEAN of US$26.2 billion, and identified regional conflict and unilateral trade measures as risks to energy markets, supply chains and the business environment.

The ministers welcomed progress in ratifying the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol and called for its entry into force as soon as possible. They also emphasized deeper industrial and supply-chain integration, digital and green-economy cooperation and continued work on trade facilitation and regional economic resilience.

Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu met Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in Mumbai with the two countries’ chief trade negotiators on September 21. Canada said the discussions advanced work on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, with the shared objective of concluding negotiations by the end of 2026.

Canada also linked the wider economic relationship to energy, critical minerals, aerospace, artificial intelligence and other strategic sectors, and said a Team Canada Trade Mission would travel to India the following month. Four rounds of CEPA negotiations had been completed as of the September 21 release.