\documentclass{standalone}

\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{external}
\tikzexternalize[prefix=xetexpics/, mode=list and make]
\tikzset{external/system call={xelatex \tikzexternalcheckshellescape
    -halt-on-error -interaction=batchmode -jobname ``\image'' ``\texsource''}}

\begin{document}

\center
\begin{tikzpicture}
  \node at (-3, 0) (N1) {Hello};
  \node at (3, 0) (N2) {World};
  \draw (N1) -- (N2);
\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}