China · 13 May, 2026 · 2 min read
Donald Trump Lands in Beijing for Xi Talks on Tariffs, Technology, Iran War, Taiwan
Trump arrives in Beijing for high-stakes two-day summit with Xi Jinping. Iran war dominates agenda; Beijing pressed to pressure Tehran and Strait of Hormuz.
China's role in Iran appears as either material support or leverage bargaining.
7 of 8 outlets skipped it: china supplied sodium perchlorate for missile fuel precursors..
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Al Jazeera
“analysts say Beijing will require concessions from the US, likely over Taiwan”Read the original ↗
Shifts policy implication from stopping support to negotiating concessions.
Iran support and summit
President Donald Trump landed in Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the agenda included tariffs, competition over technology, the war in Iran, and America's relationship with Taiwan. Fox News Digital reported that JINSA.org said Beijing provided Tehran with dual-use items for ballistic missile production, along with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities and air defense systems, helping Iran recover from damage sustained during recent conflicts.F
Fox News Digital also said JINSA.org reported China supplied sodium perchlorate, a key chemical precursor used in missile fuel, in quantities sufficient for hundreds of missiles. FIn parallel, Al Jazeera reported that analysts said Beijing will require concessions from the US, likely over Taiwan, if it were to aid in resolving the crisis in Iran.A
Pompeo presses Xi
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Martha MacCallum on “The Story” that Trump should prioritize confronting China over its role in the Middle East as the president meets Xi in Beijing. Pompeo warned that Chinese support for Iran — including potential transfers of technology — must be addressed directly during the talks, saying, “If there are, in fact, Chinese companies transferring technology that's killing American kids, putting our lives at risk,”.
The BBC said Trump was expected to discuss tariffs, competition over technology, the war in Iran, and America's relationship with Taiwan during his two-day visit. NBC News quoted Alexander Gray saying the summit’s “bottom line” was that “the economic relationship needs to be placed on an equilibrium” to give the United States time to harden “resilience and our supply chains,” while also pointing to a guardrail that it’s “unacceptable for them to suspend rare-earth exports.”
Trade, Taiwan, and leverage
The BBC reported that last year bilateral trade totaled $414.7bn (£307.3bn), down from $690.4bn (£511.6bn) in 2022, and said the US imported more than $200bn worth of goods from China than it exported there. The BBC also said a bipartisan group of US senators sent a letter to Trump calling on him to affirm US support for Taiwan and remind China's president of the $14bn arms sale to Taiwan approved in Congress last year.
Al Jazeera said China’s top issue in the summit would likely remain Taiwan, while Trump would likely push Beijing to buy more US soya beans, and it described China as a major importer of Iranian and Middle East oil whose economy could come under strain from disruption caused by Tehran’s Hormuz blockade. ANBC News said rare earth exports were expected to be a key point of leverage, with Alexander Gray warning that “the Chinese understanding” should be that it’s “unacceptable for them to suspend rare-earth exports,” as the summit also raised the possibility of extending a trade truce and creating a Board of Trade.