When President Donald Trump meets Xi Jinping in Beijing, the agenda will focus on hard issues including Taiwan, trade, technology, military stability, Iran, and the future of U.S.-China competition. That is as it should be. The U.S.-China relationship is the world’s most consequential bilateral rivalry.

It is precisely because of this tension that Trump should discuss the NFL.

Not as a favor to a sports league or a distraction from great-power competition. Trump should talk NFL because the United States should encourage China to support a formal exploratory process for hosting the first regular-season NFL game on Chinese soil before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

A regular-season game in China would be a probe whose real value lies in the durable relationships and youth participation left behind.

The proposal may sound fanciful. That is exactly why it deserves attention. U.S.-China relations run on predictable scripts including tariffs, export controls, military warnings, and crisis management, but great-power competition also requires strategic imagination. It requires identifying unexpected channels where national interests, cultural influence, and private-sector capability can overlap.

The NFL has unfinished business in China. In 2007, the league planned a preseason China Bowl in Beijing between the Patriots and Seahawks, only to cancel it in favor of launching regular-season games in London. Nearly two decades later, the environment has changed. The Los Angeles Rams hold rights in China, along with several other countries.

Trump should invite Xi to support an exploratory process involving the NFL, the Rams, Chinese sports authorities, Olympic stakeholders, and U.S. diplomatic channels.

This outreach is especially relevant because the NFL is no longer acting alone. In January 2026, the league signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of State to advance sports diplomacy through international games, youth engagement, flag football, and embassy programming.

Situations like this one are where Joseph Nye’s concept of soft power matters. Nye described power not only as the ability to coerce, but also as the ability to attract. American football, at its best, embodies competition, discipline, teamwork, strategy, and voluntary association.

A regular-season game would only be worthwhile if tied to lasting outcomes such as youth flag football clinics, coach development, girls’ and women’s participation, school partnerships, and a pathway to LA28. Tackle football built the NFL’s global media brand. Flag football is cheaper, safer, and more accessible, and it can build a global participation system. LA28 offers the perfect Olympic stage.

China has incentives to engage. Flag football was selected for the World Games 2025 in Chengdu, and IFAF noted that more than 300,000 children in China already participate in school flag football programs. Hosting the first NFL regular-season game would deliver a major international experience, boost China’s flag football push before LA28, and signal openness amid tension.

China has seen American sport’s reach before. Kobe Bryant achieved massive popularity there and became a symbol of excellence and aspiration for over 20 years. He was even described as a “One-Man State Department.” His influence came from repeated presence, respect for the audience, and stories that Chinese fans could claim as their own.

There are risks, of course. Beijing could turn the event into a prestige project. Any deal must include firm red lines: no political scripts or forced apologies; transparent broadcasts; player safety; and a genuine willingness to walk away.

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Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

Long travel, scheduling, union buy-in, stadium readiness, and market demand make China harder than established markets like London or Germany. That is why the goal now is not announcing a game, but launching a serious exploratory process to test feasibility and guardrails.

Success would be measured by what remains after the teams leave: flag football participation numbers; trained coaches, school programs, and fan growth; a credible LA28 pathway — not television ratings or photo opportunities.

The United States should remain firm on Taiwan, technology, deterrence, trade, espionage, and human rights. Firmness does not require cultural withdrawal. Great powers compete through pressure and attraction.

Concerns about propaganda and political risk are legitimate. But refusing all engagement also carries costs. Viewing China solely through military balances, export controls, and crisis management narrows the strategic imagination.

Trump should not discuss the NFL with Xi because American football will transform U.S.-China relations. It will not. He should raise it because competition should not mean cultural retreat. A regular-season game in China would be a probe whose real value lies in the durable relationships and youth participation left behind.

America should be confident enough to share one of its greatest cultural inventions and strategic enough to create conditions for effective engagement between two great powers.

Editor's note: This article was originally published by RealClearDefense and made available via RealClearWire.