Trump Heads To Beijing For Summit With Xi Jinping On Trade, Iran, And Taiwan

President Donald Trump departed for China for a highly anticipated summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the two leaders expected to discuss trade issues, the Iran war and the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.

“US Taiwan policy will be watched closely during Trump's China visit The president said he would discuss weapons sales to Taiwan with Xi While the conflict in Iran is set to loom over President Donald Trump's China summit, what might be the most consequential security issue discussed behind closed doors is much closer to Beijing”

ABC News

NBC News reported that Trump said Monday, when asked about weapons sales to Taiwan, "I'm going to have that discussion with President Xi. President Xi would like us not to."

ABC News

The BBC said Xi Jinping will host Trump in Beijing this week, with the agenda including Iran, trade, technology and Taiwan, and described the reception as grand, including a stop inside Zhongnanhai.

The AP reported that Trump downplayed differences with Xi over the U.S. and Israel’s conflict in Iran as he headed to Beijing, saying, "We’re going to have a long talk about it."

ABC News said the U.S. Taiwan policy during Trump’s China visit will be watched closely, quoting Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling White House reporters, "I'm sure Taiwan will be a topic of conversation as it always is," and warning that "it is in neither one of our interests to see anything destabilizing happen" in that part of the world.

ABC News also reported that a bipartisan group of eight senators sent a letter to the White House about a $14 billion package of arms sales to Taiwan that had been approved in January and has not been sent along, with the senators led by New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen writing, "American support for Taiwan is not up for negotiation."

Al Jazeera

AP News reported that Trump sought to minimize the need to persuade Xi to change China’s posture on Iran, saying, "I don’t think we need any help with Iran," when asked by a reporter if he would press Xi to pressure the Islamic Republic.

AP News added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stepped up their calls for China to use its influence to help reopen the strait, through which about 20% of the world’s crude flowed before the war began.

Fox Business reported that business figures including Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook and more than a dozen others will travel to China with the U.S. delegation, listing Blackrock CEO Larry Fink, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon.

“Trump downplays differences with China’s Xi over Iran as he heads to Beijing for high-stakes summit Trump downplays differences with China’s Xi over Iran as he heads to Beijing for high-stakes summit WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday downplayed differences with President Xi Jinping over the U”

AP News

Fox Business also included Trump’s Monday Truth Social post declaring, "I am very much looking forward to my trip to China, an amazing Country, with a Leader, President Xi, respected by all," and adding, "Great things will happen for both Countries!"

CNBC said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC it would be "a great honor" to travel to China with Donald Trump, but he is not among the executives joining the president, while more than a dozen U.S. executives will include Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, Tesla’s Elon Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook.

CNBC reported that Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing late on Wednesday local time for two days of meetings with Xi, and said it will be the first visit by a sitting U.S. president in nearly a decade.