Beijing, May 14: President Donald Trump on Thursday kicked off a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that is expected to be long on pageantry and symbolism but unlikely to feature major breakthroughs on key issues like trade, US relations with Taiwan or the war in Iran.
After landing in Beijing to an elaborate welcome ceremony Wednesday night, Trump was greeted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping the following morning at the Great Hall of the People, an imposing building on Tiananmen Square that houses China’s legislature.
The pair shook hands to start and briefly chatted, with Trump patting Xi on the arm before they posed for pictures.
Cannons then boomed a welcome salute for Trump and a band played the Star-Spangled Banner. Following instruction from a goose stepping, sword carrying member of the military, Xi and Trump went to inspect a military honour guard.
Tiananmen was cleared for the event, with no movement in the plaza save for officials and press, as well as military personnel who paraded in after Trump arrived. The hall featured giant, red-carpeted steps and huge expanses of marble, where soldiers hung large American and Chinese flags.
Hundreds of primary school children wearing bright colours offered a welcome routine, jumping up and down as the girls waved flowers and the boys hoisted American and Chinese flags as the two leaders walked past them.
Trump and Xi were then heading into a bilateral meeting before the Republican US president visits the Temple of Heaven, a religious complex dating to the 15th century that symbolizes the relationship between heaven and earth. Trump and Xi will also attend a state banquet.
The White House has insisted that Trump wouldn’t be making the trip without an eye toward securing results before he leaves — suggesting there could be announcements coming on trade, including a Chinese commitment to buy US soybeans, beef and aircraft. Trump administration officials also want to work toward establishing a Board of Trade with China to address commercial differences between the countries.
But neither side has yet offered concrete details on what might come out of the three-day visit at a time when Beijing’s close economic ties to Iran could complicate matters.
Economic questions follow Trump to China
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The president’s Beijing swing comes as Iran continues to dominate his domestic agenda and stoke fears about the prospect of a weakening US economy as the election season ahead of November’s midterms — when Republicans will be looking to maintain control of Congress — begins heating up.
The US and Israel’s war in Iran has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, stranding oil and natural gas tankers and causing energy prices to spike, threatening global economic growth.
Spending so much time with Xi — especially against splendiferous backdrops — will afford ample time for Trump to discuss a series of thorny topics. Those include Iran and trade, but also Taiwan and a possible three-way nuclear arms deal featuring Washington, Beijing and Russia.
Still, progress beyond pleasantries might prove elusive.
“Neither side will make much progress on the two major foreign policy issues,” predicted Jim Lewis, a tech policy fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. “Trump will press the Chinese to help him on Iran. They’ll be unwilling. The Chinese will press Trump to make concessions on Taiwan. We’ll see what we get out of that.”
Back in Washington, the politics of the war got more complicated. Senate Republicans on Wednesday again blocked Democratic legislation to halt hostilities in Iran — but Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski bucked her party, becoming the third Republican in the chamber to vote against continuing the war.
China is the largest purchaser of Iranian oil, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Trump will make the case for Beijing to exert its influence on Iran, noting that administration officials will underscore that “economies are melting down because of this crisis” which means consumers are “buying less Chinese product.”
“So it’s in their interest to resolve this,” Rubio said of Chinese officials. “We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf.”
That contradicted Trump, who has downplayed suggestions that he will press Xi to do more to pressure Iran to open the strait. The president also says pressure on the US economy won’t compromise US demands as he negotiates with Iran in the midst of a fragile ceasefire. Asked as he left the White House if the financial stability of ordinary Americans factors into Iranian negotiations, Trump responded, “Not even a little bit.”
“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, before going on to suggest that “every American understands” such a position.
Mixed messaging was also evident on inflation and the war, however, as Vice President JD Vance denied Trump’s own words that the US economy wasn’t a major factor in seeking a resolution with Tehran.
“I don’t think the president said that,” Vance said after being asked about Trump’s comments. “I think that’s a misrepresentation of what the president said.”
Trade and Taiwan discussions also could be intense
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Looming large is the status of Taiwan, given that China is displeased with US plans to sell weapons to the self-governing island that the Chinese government claims as part of its territory.
The Trump administration has approved an USD 11 billion weapons package for Taiwan, but has yet to begin fulfilling it. Trump has also demonstrated greater ambivalence toward Taiwan — an approach that’s raising questions about whether he might be open to dialing back support for the island democracy.
Taiwan is the world’s leading chipmaker, producing components essential to the development of artificial intelligence. Trump has sought to bolster trade deals with Taiwan that can stimulate chip production in the US.
Trump personally called Nvidia’s Jensen Huang to invite him to hop on Air Force One during a refueling stop in Alaska on the way to Beijing — one of a large group of CEOs from the tech, defense, finance and agriculture sectors who are part of the delegation. Other officials on the visit include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as Trump’s son Eric and Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law.
Also in China is Elon Musk, the SpaceX chief who once led Trump’s effort to slash federal jobs and cut back the size of government.
The US and China reached a trade truce last year that calmed each side’s threats to impose steep tariffs on the other. The White House says there have been ongoing discussions and mutual interest in extending the agreement, though it is unclear whether any such announcement could come during Trump’s visit.
Trump has said he will ask Xi to give US firms greater access to the Chinese market, urging his Chinese counterpart to “’open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic.”
He’s also seeking to extend a deal that allows China to continue exporting rare earth minerals to the US, prompting China to hold off on limiting the global supply in response to Trump’s threatened tariffs.
Top American officials have also said Trump will raise the idea of the US, China and Russia signing a pact setting limits on the nuclear weapons each nation keeps in its arsenal — an idea Beijing has previously viewed sceptically.
