President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, seeking to stabilize relations between the world’s two largest economies even as tensions persist over Iran, trade, and Taiwan.
Before departing the White House on Tuesday, Trump sought to minimize disagreements with Xi over the ongoing conflict involving Iran, despite recent pressure from his administration for China to use its influence with Tehran.
“We’re going to have a long talk about it. I think he’s been relatively good, to be honest with you,” Trump said of Xi and the conflict, the Associated Press reported.
Moments later, Trump downplayed Iran as a central issue in the talks.
“We have a lot of things to discuss. I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control,” Trump said.
The summit comes as the Trump administration faces mounting domestic and international pressure tied to the conflict in Iran, which has disrupted global oil markets and heightened concerns about economic instability.
Administration officials have argued that China, the world’s largest buyer of Iranian oil, has leverage to encourage Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and return to negotiations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have recently urged Beijing to help restore shipping traffic through the critical waterway, which carried roughly 20% of the world’s crude oil before the conflict began.
“You can’t buy from them if you can’t ship it there, and you can’t buy from them if your economy is being destroyed by what Iran is doing,” Rubio said last week, per AP.
Despite those appeals, analysts say China has shown little interest in becoming deeply involved in the conflict.
“They are very cautious, risk averse, and they don’t want to be involved in anything that would drag them into something that they don’t consider their problem,” said Ahmed Aboudouh, a Middle East specialist with Chatham House, per AP.
Trump’s visit marks the first trip to China by a U.S. President since he visited Beijing during his first term in 2017. He was joined by senior administration officials, including Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Bessent, as well as business leaders such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The White House has signaled that trade and economic cooperation will dominate discussions with Xi as both nations attempt to preserve a fragile truce reached after months of escalating trade tensions.
Last year, the United States imposed tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods before both governments stepped back from further escalation. China had responded by tightening export controls on rare earth minerals critical to U.S. industries.
Trump said trade would remain a top focus during the meetings.
“We’re going to be talking with President Xi about a lot of different things. I would say more than anything else will be trade,” Trump told reporters before departing Washington, the Washington Post reported.
“We’re the strongest nation on Earth in terms of military. China’s considered second, who knows,” Trump added. “I have a great relationship with President Xi, and I think it’s going to remain that way.”
Taiwan is also expected to be a major topic during the summit. Chinese officials are expected to press Trump on U.S. military support for the island, which Beijing considers part of China.
Trump suggested earlier this week that he may be open to discussing future arms sales to Taiwan.
“President Xi would like us not to, and I’ll have that discussion,” Trump said, per the Post. “That’s one of the many things I’ll be talking about.”
The remarks alarmed some supporters of Taiwan in Washington, where lawmakers from both parties have long viewed U.S. military assistance to the island as a cornerstone of regional security.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, urged the administration to take a firmer approach toward Beijing.
“China needs to stop being a personal trainer for our adversaries,” Tillis said, the Post reported.
China has also pushed back against recent U.S. sanctions targeting Chinese firms accused of supporting Iran. The State Department last week sanctioned several entities, including three China-based companies, accused of providing satellite imagery that aided Iranian military operations.
Beijing condemned the measures as “illegal unilateral pressure” and activated a blocking statute prohibiting Chinese companies from complying with the sanctions.
Ahead of Trump’s arrival, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing and defended Iran’s right to pursue civilian nuclear energy.
Xi has also indirectly criticized the United States over the conflict, warning that international law “must not be selectively applied or disregarded,” AP reported.
Despite the disputes, analysts say both leaders appear motivated to avoid further destabilizing the relationship as each faces economic pressures at home.
Sarah Beran, a former U.S. diplomat who worked on China policy in both the Trump and Biden administrations, said expectations for major breakthroughs during the summit remain limited.
“The difficulties, the frictions, aren’t going away between the two, but both sides also really are focused on domestic issues,” Beran said, the Post reported.
Officials from both governments have suggested that maintaining dialogue between the two leaders remains essential as tensions continue over trade, security, and global conflicts.
