The U.S. and China have agreed to continue cooperation on searching for the remains of U.S. service members missing in China since World War II. The commitment was part of an eight-point list of outcomes following a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States from September 23-25, 2026. This renewed focus on a decades-long effort offers a rare area of cooperation amidst broader strategic rivalry.
The agreement to continue searching for the remains of U.S. servicemen missing in China offers a rare point of cooperation between the U.S. and China amidst significant geopolitical and economic rivalry, potentially fostering goodwill and providing closure for families.
The search for the remains of U.S. servicemen missing in China since World War II has gained renewed attention following a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States from September 23 to 25, 2026. During the visit, Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed that their militaries would continue to cooperate in this decades-long effort.
This commitment was part of an eight-point list of outcomes from the summit, alongside agreements on artificial intelligence and trade. The cooperation on recovering remains offers a rare practical area of collaboration between the two global powers, especially in contrast to their current strategic rivalry.
During the summit, both leaders invoked the historical alliance between China and the U.S. during World War II. Trump praised the "brave American pilots" of the Flying Tigers, while Xi recalled how Chinese and American people "stood shoulder to shoulder" against Japanese aggression. This historical context was used to frame the renewed cooperation.
Wang Yi, China's Minister of Foreign Affairs, described the visit as a milestone and noted the close engagement between President Xi and President Trump, which has established a pattern of interaction characterized by mutual respect and sincerity. He highlighted that head-of-state diplomacy serves as the anchor for China-U.S. relations.
Zhou Bo, a senior fellow at Tsinghua University, commented that the search for remains is "politically one of the least controversial" areas for cooperation, providing an additional avenue for engagement between the two countries.
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