Donald Trump Meets Xi Jinping in Beijing to Tackle Iran War, Trade Truce, Taiwan

U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the meeting set to tackle Iran, trade, and Taiwan.

Trump said he would ask Xi to “open up” China so “these brilliant people can work their magic,” and he framed the trip as a chance to raise economic opening measures with Xi.

ABC7 Los Angeles

In Beijing, Xi was scheduled to greet Trump at 10:00 am in the Great Hall of the People, where the leaders were also set to hold a state banquet in the evening.

The visit was accompanied by top CEOs including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Tesla’s Elon Musk, and Reuters reported the talks would include a trade truce and Iran war at stake.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Wednesday it “welcomes” Trump’s visit and that “China stands ready to work with the United States…to expand cooperation and manage differences.”

Trump’s China trip also drew attention to the size and composition of his delegation, with The Times of India listing executives including Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Tim Cook of Apple, and Larry Fink of BlackRock.

In a Fox News interview, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away,” linking the Iran issue to the summit’s diplomatic goals.

Al Jazeera

The Independent reported Rubio also said China is “our top political challenge,” while Reuters framed the agenda as including a trade truce and the Iran war.

On the ground in Beijing, Trump was greeted with a ceremony that included “some 300 Chinese youth in white uniforms chanting “welcome”,” and he told reporters “We're the two superpowers.”

Trump and Xi were also expected to discuss US arms sales to Taiwan, with Inquirer.net saying Trump would speak to Xi about those sales to the self-governing democracy claimed by China.

The summit’s stakes are tied to whether Trump and Xi can extend a one-year tariff truce reached during their last meeting in South Korea in October, with Inquirer.net saying the deal was “far from certain.”

“Trump in China for Xi meeting to focus on Iran war, trade and US arms sales to Taiwan Follow the latest news on President Donald Trump and his administration | May 13, 2026 US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for his highly anticipated summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a restless moment for a world worried about war, trade and artificial intelligence”

AP News

In the background of the talks, the Iran war was described as threatening to weaken Trump’s position, with Inquirer.net noting it had forced him to postpone the summit from March.

AP’s live coverage said the leaders would hold bilateral talks on Thursday and that Trump was seeking a win by signing deals with China to buy more American food and aircraft, while also saying he would be talking with Xi about trade “more than anything else.”

The Independent reported that China has positioned itself as a potential mediator in the Iran conflict, as rising oil prices weigh on its already slowing economy.

As the leaders prepare to meet at the Great Hall of the People, the agenda also includes Taiwan and artificial intelligence, with Inquirer.net listing rare earth exports and AI rivalry among the topics expected to be taken up by the two heads of state.