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The U.S.-China relationship has gone a long way from complete isolation to a complex partnership. Personal meetings between leaders of the two countries played a key role in this history. Below is a full chronology of all visits by sitting U.S. presidents to China, starting with the historic "thaw" in 1972. The list includes both state visits and trips to international summits (APEC, G20).

Chronology of Visits

Richard Nixon (February 21–28, 1972)

Cities: Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai. This was the first visit to the PRC by a sitting U.S. president in history. It ended a 25-year isolation and led to the signing of the Shanghai Communique — a document laying the foundation for the normalization of bilateral relations.

Gerald Ford (December 1–5, 1975)

Cities: Beijing. The visit took place before diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China were established. Ford confirmed the U.S.'s commitment to the principles of the Shanghai Communique.

Ronald Reagan (April 26 – May 1, 1984)

Cities: Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai. The first visit by an American president after the establishment of diplomatic relations (1979). Reagan and his wife Nancy visited the Terracotta Army in Xi'an.

George H.W. Bush (February 25–26, 1989)

Cities: Beijing. The visit took place just a month after his inauguration — the fastest visit in history. Before his presidency, Bush was the head of the U.S. Diplomatic Mission to China.

Bill Clinton (June 25 – July 3, 1998)

Cities: Xi'an, Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, Hong Kong. The longest (9 days) and geographically most extensive visit. Clinton delivered a speech at Peking University, which was broadcast throughout China.

George W. Bush (4 visits)

October 2001 — Shanghai (APEC summit), the first foreign visit after the September 11 attacks.
February 2002 — Beijing (working visit, visit to Tsinghua University).
November 2005 — Beijing (official visit).
August 2008 — Beijing (opening ceremony of the Olympic Games).

Barack Obama (3 visits)

November 2009 — Beijing, Shanghai (first visit).
November 2014 — Beijing (APEC summit), the famous "Xiyanghe talks".
September 2016 — Hangzhou (G20 summit), joint walk around Lake Xihua.

Donald Trump (1st term) — November 8–10, 2017

Cities: Beijing. The first state visit after Trump's assumption of office. Trump and Melania visited the Forbidden City and the Beijing Opera.

Current Visit (May 2026)

Donald Trump — second visit (May 13–15, 2026)

The second state visit of President Trump. The previous visit by the U.S. leader to China took place 9 years ago (2017) — the longest gap between visits in the history of the two countries.

Quick Statistics

  • First visit: Richard Nixon (1972).
  • Most frequent visitor: George W. Bush (4 visits).
  • Fastest after inauguration: George H.W. Bush (within 1 month).
  • Longest visit: Bill Clinton (9 days, 5 cities).
  • Longest gap between visits: 9 years (1989–1998) and again 9 years (2017–2026).

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All visits of US presidents to China // Delhi: India (ELIB.ORG.IN). Updated: 15.05.2026. URL: https://elib.org.in/m/articles/view/All-visits-of-US-presidents-to-China (date of access: 08.07.2026).

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