(May 13): US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for the first state visit to China by a US leader in nine years, as the world’s two largest economies look to stabilise ties with a summit playing out against the backdrop of the Iran war.
Air Force One touched down at the Beijing Capital International Airport slightly before 8pm on Wednesday, where Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, a military honor guard, and hundreds of flag-waving children readied a red-carpet greeting ceremony for the US president.
The real action kicks off the next morning, with Trump meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People.
His host enters the summit emboldened, after the pair’s meeting last year in South Korea saw Beijing use its rare earths reserves to pressure Trump to roll back threatened tariffs. Since then, the US Supreme Court has restricted the president’s avenues for imposing additional levies, while the Iran war has sapped Trump’s domestic political standing.
But Trump and other administration officials indicated ahead of his arrival that he still intended to use the meeting as a chance to push the Chinese leader on uncomfortable topics, from Beijing’s role in the unresolved Middle East conflict to rolling back trade barriers for US businesses.
“I will be asking President Xi, a leader of extraordinary distinction, to ‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level!” Trump said in a social media post detailing corporate executives accompanying him on the trip. “In fact, I promise, that when we are together, which will be in a matter of hours, I will make that my very first request.”
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The US and China are weighing a potential framework whereby each country identifies some US$30 billion ($38.2 billion) in goods on which tariffs could be eased without threatening national security interests, Reuters reported, citing four unnamed people familiar with the Trump administration’s objectives. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comments on the report.
The 36-hour summit — which includes a state banquet, a visit to the Temple of Heaven, and a tea chat in the Zhongnanhai leadership compound — was delayed for weeks as Trump has struggled to bring the Iran conflict to a conclusion.
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In recent days, Trump has expressed frustration with Tehran’s proposals to wind down its nuclear programme as part of a peace deal, suggesting Iran had failed to offer significant enough concessions and that a fragile ceasefire agreement currently in place could end.
Before departing for the trip, the US leader sought to downplay the Iran war on the summit agenda, saying he would prioritize trade negotiations with Xi instead.
But China buys most of Iran’s oil exports, providing the Islamic Republic with a critical economic lifeline to sustain its war efforts, and holds unique geopolitical sway that Trump could be eager to leverage. The conflict has added fresh strains on US-China ties, with the Trump administration recently sanctioning multiple Chinese firms for purchasing Iranian oil or providing satellite imagery to the Islamic Republic.
Revenue that China provides to Iran as well as potential weapons exports are expected to be among the topics of discussion, according to US officials.
At the same time, the US president is eager to secure business deals in sectors such as agriculture, energy and aerospace, while hammering out details of a new board of trade to manage economic ties with America’s top geopolitical rival. As part of that agenda, he brought along a business delegation featuring top US executives from Tesla Inc’s Elon Musk and Apple Inc’s Tim Cook to Boeing Co’s Kelly Ortberg.
In an unexpected twist, Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang boarded the presidential plane as a last-minute addition, thrusting artificial intelligence and technology into the spotlight.
Also aboard Air Force One was US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was twice sanctioned by Beijing during his tenure as a senator for criticising its actions in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The last time a US defence chief visited China was in 2018, when James Mattis met with Xi in Beijing.
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The two leaders are expected to seek an extension to the trade truce they reached last October, which rolled back tariffs and export controls including shipments of rare earths to the US. Ahead of Trump’s arrival, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng held around three hours of talks in South Korea designed to set the stage for the leader-level meetings later this week.
Taiwan is also expected to be on the agenda.
Trump has said he would discuss US arms sales to the self-governing democracy with Xi, and delayed a US$14 billion weapons package for the island ahead of his visit to China.
Lawmakers from both parties in the US have warned that the pause risks undermining America’s long-standing support for Taipei, and the US for decades has avoided prior consultation with Beijing on arms sales. Still, Xi has expressed personal concerns about the issue, warning Trump to handle it with “utmost caution” in a phone call in February.
Trump has also vowed to raise the case of Jimmy Lai, the former Hong Kong media tycoon who has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for collusion and sedition charges. Trump has previously brought up Lai’s case with Xi when the leaders met in South Korea in October.
The US president’s trip has drawn considerable attention on Chinese social media, where the topic has been trending in recent days. Some internet users shared posts tracking Air Force One on flight monitoring websites, while others discussed members of the US business delegation, including Huang’s last-minute inclusion.
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