(May 11): US President Donald Trump is expected to press President Xi Jinping over China’s approach to Iran and hammer out details on a new board of trade when they meet this week in Beijing, senior US officials said on Sunday, hours before China confirmed the state visit.
Trump and Xi are scheduled for talks on Thursday and Friday in Beijing as they wrestle with strong disagreements over trade and the US-Israeli war with Iran, which counts China as its biggest oil buyer and a key diplomatic backer.
In final preparations for the first US presidential trip to China in nearly a decade, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng for last-minute talks in Seoul on Wednesday, both sides confirmed.
Revenue that China provides to Iran as well as potential weapons exports would be among the topics discussed at the summit, one of the US officials told reporters on a conference call, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive preparations for the summit.
The Iran war — now in its third month — has added fresh tensions between the world’s two largest economies as they seek to stabilise ties and maintain a delicate trade truce. The US has sanctioned multiple Chinese firms for purchasing Iranian oil or providing satellite imagery to the Islamic Republic, as the Trump administration comes under increasing pressure to end a conflict that has triggered a historic energy crisis.
A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said the two leaders will exchange views on “major issues concerning China-US relations as well as world peace and development”.
See also: Bessent calls on China, allies to join US operation in Hormuz
“China is willing to work with the US to uphold the principles of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, expand cooperation, manage differences, and inject more stability and certainty into a world fraught with change,” Guo Jiakun, the spokesperson, told a regular press briefing in Beijing on Monday.
Signalling cooperation on a key bilateral issue, China said it dismantled a cross-border drug trafficking network in a joint operation with the US, detaining five suspects in raids spanning the two countries in early April, state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.
See also: Nato chief says US disappointed in Europe over Iran response
Taiwan is also expected to be on the agenda, but no changes in US policy towards the self-governing island are expected, one of the US officials said.
Beijing has warned the US about arms sales to Taiwan, which it considers its own territory, and has asked the Trump administration to officially declare that it “opposes” Taiwan independence. A senior Taiwanese official expressed concern last month that Taiwan would be put “on the menu” of the talks between Trump and Xi.
US concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) and a potential new channel of communication with China on that issue would also be discussed, the two US officials said on Sunday.
Anthropic PBC’s latest large language model Mythos has underscored the risks AI poses to cybersecurity, prompting regulators in the US, UK and Asia to step up scrutiny of the security of their financial systems. Xi’s government hasn’t officially commented on Mythos, but it has long taken a hard-line approach toward threats on national security.
Xi and Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, discussed AI during their meetings in 2023 and 2024, including a pledge that neither of their nations would turn over control of nuclear weapons to AI programmes.
Trump, who considers himself a deal-maker, will likely want to announce planned purchases by Beijing of US goods as well.
“President Trump will continue doing what he has done over the past year: rebalancing the relationship with China and prioritising reciprocity and fairness to restore American economic independence,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told reporters at the beginning of the call. “The American people can expect the president to deliver more good deals on behalf of our country.”
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Kelly said the two sides would continue to work on proposals to establish a board of trade, which would govern exchanges between the two countries of non-sensitive goods, and a board of investment. Agreements on agriculture, aerospace and energy would also be discussed.
One of the senior US officials said the two sides would continue discussions on Chinese purchases in those sectors and that announcements could come during or shortly after Trump’s visit. There are no current plans to create a major new Chinese investment programme, the official added.
Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst at Eurasia Group and a former US diplomat, said Bessent’s meeting with He “sounds like a last-minute deliverable”, presumably related to the board of trade or investment.
“Overall it is a positive signal and suggests that there may be a surprise upside in terms of outcomes,” Chan said. “I can’t see why they would need one final tete-a-tete unless the two sides are close to delivering something more substantial than most folks expect.”
Trump, who arrives in China on Wednesday evening, will take part in a welcoming ceremony on Thursday morning followed by a meeting with Xi, Kelly said. The US president will tour the Temple of Heaven in the afternoon and take part in a state banquet on Thursday evening. The two leaders will have tea and a working lunch on Friday before Trump departs for China.
Top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures that Trump and Xi will be making deals through the summit.
“Exactly how those deals look will depend on how the meetings progress,” Hassett said. “But my expectation, given the strong relationship between the two presidents, is that there will be lots of good news for American workers and firms and farmers.”
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