Trump Lands in Beijing for Summit With Xi Jinping on Trade, Iran War, and Taiwan

U.S. President Donald Trump landed in Beijing on Wednesday for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the agenda expected to include trade, the war in Iran, and America’s relationship with Taiwan.

The BBC said Trump’s two-day visit was expected to discuss “tariffs, competition over technology, the war in Iran, and America’s relationship with Taiwan,” and it noted that he was greeted on the red carpet by Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng.

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Trump also used social media ahead of his landing to say, “I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to 'open up' China so that these brilliant people can work their magic,” framing the request as his “very first request” when he meets Xi.

The CNBC report said Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed as investors looked for clues on the future of U.S.-China ties, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising 0.27% and Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures at 26,799.

In the background of the summit, the BBC reported that last year bilateral trade totalled $414.7bn (£307.3bn), down from $690.4bn (£511.6bn) in 2022, and it said the U.S. imported more than $200bn worth of goods from China than it exported there.

Trump arrived with a delegation that included Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, and the BBC said he was accompanied by his son Eric Trump and a slew of U.S. tech industry titans including Musk and Huang.

CNBC reported that Trump was accompanied by a group of U.S. executives, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, and it said Goldman Sachs expected the meeting to focus narrowly on trade and export controls, including tariffs, restrictions on rare earths and semiconductors.

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Goldman Sachs told investors that China could agree to step up purchases of U.S. farm goods, energy and aircraft in exchange for avoiding further tariff hikes, and it said the meeting could act as a “tactical catalyst for strength in the Chinese yuan and Chinese equities.”

The AP said Musk and Huang traveled to China aboard Air Force One with Trump, and it framed the leaders’ discussions as covering Iran, trade and artificial intelligence.

In Beijing, the Washington Post reported Trump called for Xi Jinping to “open up” China as he jetted to Beijing alongside a phalanx of leaders from top tech and finance companies.

Beyond trade, the BBC said the summit would be marked by tensions over Taiwan, and it reported that a bipartisan group of U.S. senators sent a letter to Trump calling on him to affirm U.S. support for Taiwan and remind China’s president of the $14bn arms sale to Taiwan approved in Congress last year.

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The BBC quoted the senators’ letter saying, “American support for Taiwan is not up for negotiation,” and it added that Trump was scheduled to participate in a welcome ceremony with Xi at China’s Great Hall of the People, a state banquet, multiple bilateral meetings, and a “friendship photo” in Beijing’s Zhongnanhai Garden.

On Iran, the BBC said China relies heavily on Iran for oil and that exports have effectively been cut off as ships are unable to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, while it also reported that Trump told reporters in Washington he and Xi will have a “long talk” about Iran but insisted, “I don't think we need any help” in resolving the conflict.

The Komu 8 report said Trump told reporters Monday he’d be discussing with Xi an $11 billion weapons package for Taiwan authorized in December but not yet begun fulfilling, and it described the arms package as “the largest ever approved for Taiwan.”

In parallel, the Fierce Pharma report said the life sciences industry was missing from Trump’s delegation, noting that Illumina’s CEO Jacob Thaysen was the sole representative from the life sciences industry as the summit focused on trade “more than anything else.”