Transverse momentum (p_T) spectra of charged particles at mid-pseudorapidity in Xe–Xe collisions at s_NN=5.44TeV measured with the ALICE apparatus at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The kinematic range 0.15<p_T<50GeV/c and |η|<0.8 is covered. Results are presented in nine classes of collision centrality in the 0–80% range. For comparison, a pp reference at the collision energy of s=5.44 TeV is obtained by interpolating between existing pp measurements at s=5.02 and 7 TeV. The nuclear modification factors in central Xe–Xe collisions and Pb–Pb collisions at a similar center-of-mass energy of s_NN=5.02 TeV, and in addition at 2.76 TeV, at analogous ranges of charged particle multiplicity density 〈dN_ch/dη〉 show a remarkable similarity at p_T>10 GeV/c. The centrality dependence of the ratio of the average transverse momentum 〈p_T〉 in Xe–Xe collisions over Pb–Pb collision at s=5.02 TeV is compared to hydrodynamical model calculations.