President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s planned tour of the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC, was altered at the last minute on September 25, 2026, after Beijing raised strong objections to a historical document detailing the aftermath of World War II.
The exhibition, arranged inside the museum’s main foyer, originally featured a temporary display resting on a black tablecloth that showcased a brick from the Great Wall of China alongside an elaborate 19th-century scroll sent by a Qing emperor. According to a Chinese diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly, the entire display was pulled due to a sudden adjustment in the itinerary.
The sudden shift occurred because Beijing was unhappy about one specific paper the U.S. intended to feature: the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco, as noted by the diplomat alongside two additional sources acquainted with the situation who received anonymity since they lacked authorization for public comments.
Beijing was irate over the Treaty of San Francisco because the United States and Japan signed it, while China did not. The pact officially ended World War II hostilities between Japan and Allied Powers, including the United States. Last week, both Xi and Trump mentioned the alliance between their nations on a shared front throughout that war.
Beyond its wartime legacy, the 1951 agreement leaves the status of Taiwan undetermined and does not state that the island belongs to Beijing. Ryan Hass, a Taiwan and China expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington, noted that the treaty remains a persistent point of friction.
“It is a point of contention for the Chinese because they were not signatories to the Treaty of San Francisco, and they do not like the fact that the treaty of SF leaves undetermined Taiwan’s political status,” Hass said.
An administration official, speaking anonymously because they lacked authorization to comment on the record, told NPR that the group at the archives viewed “important, historic documents that set the foundation for 250 years of American greatness.”
“The visit offered an opportunity for both leaders to discuss the United States and China’s history and concluded a very productive state visit between the two leaders,” the official added. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
U.S. officials involved in planning the visit indicated that other documents central to defining the U.S.’ relationship to Taiwan—specifically the Six Assurances and the Three Communiques—were also discussed for potential display, but were ultimately not included.
The episode highlights the ongoing delicacy of Taiwan within U.S.-China ties, demonstrating how small variations in viewing history still impact foreign policy outcomes. Bringing up Taiwan-linked materials—a move bound to infuriate Beijing—also signals internal resistance among U.S. officials opposing President Trump’s cordial welcome of Xi, partly driven by fears that Xi might push to alter official American policy regarding Taiwan.
Claiming its own armed forces and governance, Taiwan operates as a democratic territory that Beijing seeks to eventually rule, whereas Beijing strongly rejects any formal declaration of independence by the island. Although the United States lacks official diplomatic ties to Taiwan and holds no binding obligation to protect it in the event of a Chinese invasion, the U.S. functions as the island’s primary security provider through a network of diplomatic declarations and American laws, such as the Three Communiques and Six Assurances.
According to Hass, the museum visit was designed to reciprocate diplomatic hospitality previously extended abroad.
“I think the trip to the National Archives was intended to reciprocate Xi Jinping’s hospitality in Beijing when he took Donald Trump to the Temple of Heaven and the private tour of the gardens in Zhongnanhai [the central leadership compound in Beijing]. And the symbolism of Xi Jinping showing the Temple of Heaven and what that stood for and President Trump showing America’s foundational documents and how they inform America’s approach to China, I think it sends a signal of the parameters of limits in which President Trump operates,” Hass said.
Two Chinese diplomats stated that the Chinese embassy learned of the planned document lineup on Thursday during Xi’s official visit to Washington. Officials from China stated that just an hour and a half prior to the arrival of both heads of state at the National Archives, uncertainty remained regarding whether the Treaty of San Francisco would actually be exhibited.
