Trump and Xi Open Beijing Summit on Trade and Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday morning, opening a two-day summit covering trade, tariffs, Taiwan, the ongoing war with Iran, and artificial intelligence. The meeting marks the first state visit by a U.S. president to China since 2017. Talks are scheduled to continue through midday Friday.
Xi opened the summit by asking whether the United States and China could avoid the “Thucydides Trap” — the historical pattern in which tensions between a rising and a ruling power have repeatedly led to war. The question set a pointed tone for discussions expected to test the limits of one of the world’s most consequential bilateral relationships. CNBC
As the two leaders sat down at the Great Hall of the People, Trump called Xi “a great leader” and spoke warmly of their relationship. “Such respect for China, the job you’ve done. You’re a great leader. I say it to everybody. You’re a great leader,” Trump said. “Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true.” ABC News
The Delegations
The U.S. delegation includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The roster signals Washington’s intent to pursue concrete economic and security outcomes rather than ceremonial optics. ABC News
CEOs Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Tim Cook of Apple, and Jensen Huang of Nvidia were also present, along with Trump’s son Eric Trump and daughter-in-law Lara Trump. Trump said the business leaders joined him to “pay respects” to Xi. ABC News
On the Chinese side, top diplomat Wang Yi and Zheng Shanjie, head of China’s economic planning agency, were among the representatives. Defense Minister Dong Jun was also present. CNBC
Trade and Tariffs
Trade sits at the centre of the U.S. agenda. Trump said on social media on Tuesday that he planned to ask Xi to “open up” the Chinese economy. ABC News
The summit comes against the backdrop of a fragile trade truce between the two countries, following a period of escalating tariffs. China was the first major economy to retaliate against Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs in April 2025, and the standoff at one point pushed U.S. duties on Chinese goods past 140 percent. Council on Foreign Relations
Xi ultimately outmaneuvered the tariff escalation by threatening to restrict flows of rare earth minerals and magnets — a move that rattled the White House and led to an abrupt de-escalation. When Xi threatened those restrictions in April and October 2025, Trump backed down rather than escalate further. Council on Foreign Relations
Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and trustee chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Beijing enters these talks from a position of strength. “China comes into this meeting far more confident than in 2017, when it feared even a small rise in U.S. tariffs. In the last year, Xi has been able to push back and neutralize much of Trump’s actions,” Kennedy said. CNBC
Beijing, for its part, is expected to press Washington to ease restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports. China wants the U.S. to roll back measures limiting its access to critical chip-making technology, according to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera
Iran and the Strait of Hormuz
The Iran conflict may prove the most difficult terrain. The U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran on February 28, and what the Trump administration had predicted would be a four-to-six-week campaign has dragged on significantly longer. Spiking gas prices tied to the conflict have weighed on Trump’s domestic approval ratings. CNBC
Analysts expect Washington to press Beijing to use its influence over Tehran, particularly because China remains the largest buyer of Iranian oil — purchasing more than 80 percent of Iran’s shipped crude exports. Al Jazeera
A White House official said the two sides agreed on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy, and that Xi expressed interest in buying more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait in the future. CNBC
Dan Grazier, a senior fellow and director of the National Security Reform programme at the Stimson Center, said the U.S. objective is clear. “I have no doubt that Trump is going to at least try to enlist Xi Jinping to assert some pressure for the Iranians to come back to the table and agree to a settlement,” Grazier said. Al Jazeera
Gregory Poling, director and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, cautioned that Beijing is unlikely to fully align with Washington’s approach. “Both sides would like to see the strait opened,” Poling said, but added that the diplomatic and strategic pressure is falling far more heavily on the U.S. side. “It is not China being humiliated in the strait… It’s the US.” Al Jazeera
Arthur Dong, a China expert and professor of strategy and economics at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, noted that Beijing’s position as Iran’s largest trade partner and top oil buyer gives it leverage. “It provides China a degree of leverage,” Dong said. CNBC
Taiwan
Taiwan is the issue Beijing has flagged most explicitly as a potential flashpoint. Xi said on Thursday that Taiwan was the most important issue in U.S.-China relations and that if not handled well, it would push the bilateral relationship to a “dangerous” place, according to Chinese state media. Beijing considers Taiwan, a democratically self-ruled island, part of its territory. The island’s ruling party rejects that claim. CNBC
The U.S. has a nuanced and long-standing position on Taiwan: it acknowledges that Beijing believes Taiwan is part of China, maintains only unofficial ties with Taipei, and has kept deliberately vague about whether it would militarily defend the island if attacked. CNBC
Analysts have raised concerns that Trump could inadvertently shift that position. “There’s been some fears in Washington that Trump would make some kind of comment, [or] agree to a language change on how the U.S. views Taiwan’s status, that would be in line with what Beijing is hoping for,” said one analyst cited by CNBC. China could use any such deviation to bolster its claims over the island, analysts said. CNBC
Trump has also said he plans to raise the case of Jimmy Lai, the jailed Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy activist sentenced earlier this year under Beijing’s national security law, according to prior statements reported by multiple outlets.
Regional and Global Impact
Countries across Asia, particularly in Southeast Asia, have significant stakes in how U.S.-China trade issues are ultimately resolved, according to CSIS. A tariff truce extension or new trade framework would ripple across regional supply chains that have been restructured around U.S.-China tensions since 2018. Center for Strategic and International Studies
The conflict has increased pressure on China’s economy and energy security. About half of China’s crude oil imports come from the Middle East, and disruptions in the Gulf have left commercial shipping vulnerable to attacks and delays. Any agreement on the Strait of Hormuz — even a rhetorical one — would carry weight in global energy markets. Al Jazeera
Kennedy noted that expectations entering the summit are low and that no grand bargain is likely, but said the meeting itself carries symbolic weight. “Although expectations are low and no grand bargain is likely, the welcoming ceremony and initial remarks at the opening session highlight how truly consequential this relationship is for the world,” he said. CNBC
Background
The Beijing summit was originally scheduled for late March or early April 2026 but was delayed after Trump said the U.S. had asked China to postpone it following the outbreak of the Iran war. This is Trump’s first visit to China since November 2017, when Xi staged what was described as a “state visit-plus,” complete with a private dinner in the Forbidden City and the announcement of $250 billion in business deals. Former President Joe Biden did not travel to China during his term following the collapse in bilateral relations tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries’ relationship has since moved through cycles of trade war, technological decoupling, and fragile de-escalation. An Iranian official met with Chinese counterparts in Beijing the week before Trump’s arrival, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Beijing in the days after Trump departs. Council on Foreign Relations + 2
What Happens Next
Trump is expected to visit the Temple of Heaven on Thursday afternoon and attend a state banquet in the evening. The two leaders are scheduled to hold multiple discussions through midday Friday. Xi is expected to reciprocate with a visit to the United States, and the two leaders could also meet at APEC and G20 events in China and the U.S. later in 2026. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the U.S. will urge China to take a larger role in resolving the Iran war, according to ABC News. Any trade or tariff announcements are expected to come at the close of talks on Friday. CNBCCNBC
