(L/R) US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth walk along the Colonnade on their way to the Oval Office for a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, on September 24, 2026. President Xi is on a State visit to the United States from September 23 to 25. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)