Trump-Xi summit in Beijing: What's at stake

BEIJING — President Trump’s archetypal sojourn to China successful 9 years is simply a high-stakes travel reflecting the rivalry and communal dependence of 2 superpowers hoping to debar a collision people — adjacent if Trump formed it much arsenic a gathering betwixt adjacent friends and concern partners.

Speaking to reporters earlier departing Washington connected Tuesday, Trump downplayed tensions betwixt the 2 countries, including connected trade, calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a “wonderful guy” and a person and saying the moving narration betwixt the 2 countries is “very good.”

Trump acknowledged China’s mightiness — saying that the Asian federation and the United States are intelligibly the world’s 2 superpowers — and that the absorption of the gathering “more than thing other volition beryllium trade.”

“We’re gonna person a large narration for many, galore decades to come,” Trump said. “My narration with President Xi is simply a fantastic one. We’ve ever gotten along, and we’re doing precise good with China, and moving with China’s been precise bully — truthful we look guardant to it.”

Trump besides downplayed the value of the gathering for the warfare successful Iran. He said Xi mightiness beryllium capable to assistance the United States scope a woody to extremity the war, but that helium doesn’t request it, “because we person Iran precise overmuch nether control.”

The authorities sojourn marks the archetypal by an American president to China since Trump’s travel present successful 2017, lone months into his archetypal term. President Biden ne'er came, becoming the archetypal to not bash truthful since diplomatic ties were normalized, an lack that underscored simmering distrust and animosity betwixt Washington and Beijing that has lone worsened since.

In the capital, information forces sealed disconnected an country astir the Temple of Heaven astir the size of 400 shot fields up of the U.S. president’s visit, anticipating a halt astatine the monument to imperial China and Confucian thought.

On his erstwhile trip, Trump received the uncommon grant of a authorities banquet wrong the Forbidden City. This clip helium is expected to dine astatine the Great Hall of the People, an imposing operation disconnected Tiananmen Square that hosts high-level gatherings of the Chinese Communist Party.

Trump’s affirmative rotation connected Tuesday aside, his docket for meetings opening Thursday with Xi highlights the immense array of American interests that beryllium connected — and often clash with — Beijing’s policies.

After launching a commercialized warfare against China astatine the opening of his 2nd term, Trump present comes chapeau successful manus requesting an hold of a tariff truce, fearful Xi mightiness travel done connected his threats to halt the export of uncommon world minerals to the United States that are captious to the manufacturing of American goods, including mundane user instrumentality and precocious defence technologies.

His sojourn comes arsenic a ceasefire successful the warfare with Iran, brokered with assistance from Beijing, is connected “massive beingness support,” according to the president. Trump is expected to entreaty to Xi for assistance successful getting Tehran to reconstruct escaped and unfastened transition done the Strait of Hormuz.

And successful a melodramatic reversal, the Trump medication has begun discussions with the Chinese astir establishing a transmission of connection connected artificial intelligence, alarmed that caller technological leaps could airs planetary risks.

All of these requests are expected to travel astatine a cost.

President Trump departs the White House connected May 12, 2026, for his 2nd authorities sojourn to China.

(Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)

In earlier remarks earlier the trip, Trump said helium expected U.S. arms merchantability to Taiwan — including 1 already approved by Congress — to go a spot successful the negotiations.

“I’m going to person that treatment with President Xi,” Trump said. “President Xi would similar america not to, and I’ll person that discussion. That’s 1 of the galore things I’ll beryllium talking about.”

The conception that U.S. enactment for Taiwan is simply a negotiable substance is definite to rattle America’s allies passim the region, from Japan to the Philippines, which are reliant connected U.S. information guarantees amid China’s Indo-Pacific subject aggression.

Despite geopolitical tensions, some sides are expected to denote concern and concern agreements, underscoring however profoundly intertwined the world’s 2 largest economies remain.

China plans connected making a important acquisition of Boeing aircraft, and the president has brought 17 American firm leaders with him connected the travel to sermon further opportunities, including Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick and Tesla’s Elon Musk.

The 2 leaders are expected to person different opportunities to speech successful idiosyncratic passim the coming year, including imaginable meetings astatine the Group of 20 acme successful Florida, the APEC acme successful Shenzhen, China, and a authorities sojourn successful Washington that Trump said helium volition big for Xi astatine immoderate constituent successful the coming months.

Trump connected Tuesday said Xi’s sojourn volition beryllium “toward the extremity of the year” and “exciting.” He besides lamented that the ballroom helium is gathering connected the White House grounds — connected the tract of the historical East Wing helium demolished — won’t beryllium acceptable successful time.

Jennifer Hong, elder manager astatine the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security, said her interest is that the authorities sojourn becomes portion of a “tyranny of calendaring,” wherever the Chinese hold to docket much high-level meetings sought by Trump that enactment disconnected captious U.S. decision-making.

“I bash deliberation this travel is indispensable for the U.S. authorities — I deliberation that determination are things that are connected clasp due to the fact that helium doesn’t privation to stone the boat,” Hong said, noting the Trump administration’s hold successful arms income to Taiwan, contempt the packages already having received legislature approval.

“I’m conscionable disquieted this volition beryllium a stringing on of promises, oregon possibly immoderate reprieve for a twelvemonth oregon so,” she added, “as we proceed to handicap ourselves connected nationalist information matters for the involvement of much meetings.”

Trump connected Tuesday repeatedly dismissed China’s imaginable assistance successful resolving the warfare successful Iran, which has driven up prices domestically and astir the satellite arsenic lipid shipments done the strategical Strait of Hormuz person been severely disrupted and U.S. efforts to afloat reopen the transmission person truthful acold been unsuccessful.

“I don’t deliberation we request immoderate assistance with Iran, to beryllium honorable with you,” Trump said. “They’re defeated militarily.”

Trump besides said the fiscal symptom galore Americans are feeling from the war, including astatine the state pump, simply isn’t a origin — “not adjacent a small bit,” helium said — successful his ongoing negotiations with Iran.

“The lone happening that matters erstwhile I’m talking astir Iran [is that] they can’t person a atomic weapon,” helium said. “I don’t deliberation astir Americans’ fiscal situation. I don’t deliberation astir anybody.”