The eyes of the world are on Beijing. The historic meeting between American President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping is held here. Upon his arrival, Trump was welcomed with full honors, but the highlight was certainly the summit between the two presidents in the Great Hall of the People.
It is the first visit of an American president to China in almost 9 years, the last being that of Trump himself in 2017. It is their seventh face to face, they have exchanged letters over the years. There is a substantial dossier to deal with: Iran, Taiwan, rare earths are just some of the topics on the agenda. We better understand the “weight” of this bilateral.
The beginning of history. 🇺🇸🇨🇳
📸 President Trump arrives in Beijing, China to kick off a landmark state visit. pic.twitter.com/1duQ3sqNaM
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 13, 2026
Who’s with Trump
With Trump there are Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to China David Perdue, Pete Hegseth (first Secretary of Defense in China for 8 years and the first since Nixon to accompany the US President to the People’s Republic), Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
Trump wanted the owner of Tesla, Elon Musk, to accompany him (who appeared immediately behind the tycoon as soon as he got off Air Force One) as well as the outgoing head of Apple, Tim Cook. The list presented includes Larry Fink, BlackRock’s number one, whose purchase plan with Gianluigi Aponte’s MSC of the two ports of Panama from the Hong Kong conglomerate, CK Hutchison, met firm opposition from Beijing last year. There is the president of Meta, Dina Powell McCormick, a few weeks after the Mandarin stop to the 2 billion offer for the acquisition of Manus, an AI company based in Singapore and founded in China. There is also “Mr Nvidia”, Jensen Huang.
Technical tests of friendship
Xi welcomed Trump with a long handshake. “Dear President Trump: It gives me great pleasure to meet you once again here in Beijing. This marks your first visit to China in nine years, and it is worth noting that our meeting is attracting attention from around the world,” he said at the opening of the bilateral meeting. In his speech, Xi said that the relationship between the US and China is “at a crossroads” in the face of global “turmoil”. For the Chinese president, a “stable” relationship between the two countries “benefits both parties and the whole world while confrontation damages both”.
Trump gave the most open version of himself. He addressed Xi: “You are a great leader. It is an honor to be your friend. We will have a fantastic future together. Some say this will be the greatest summit of all time.” Trump also mentioned his delegation of businessmen, explaining that their presence is a sign of respect towards China: “We have the greatest entrepreneurs, the best in the world. Great people and they are all with me. We asked the top 30 in the world and every one of them said yes.”
“It’s an honor to be with you, it’s an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.” – President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/WZkoGeVqhv
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 14, 2026
The knots on the table
These are some of the points of comparison between Trump and Xi. There is Iran. Washington and Beijing agree on one point: no country can impose tolls on Hormuz, a crucial strait for world trade and strategic for both the USA and the Dragon. The tycoon is ready to exert any pressure on the Dragon to use its influence on Tehran, counting on China’s dependence on the oil of the Islamic Republic. Beijing, which imports over 80% of the ayatollahs’ black gold, cannot afford to lose flows from the country or a prolongation of the closure of the Strait.
Hot topic is Taiwan. Last December the US announced an 11 billion dollar deal to supply arms to Taipei, triggering Chinese anger. A tension softened by The Donald, who extended a helping hand to Xi by claiming that “it’s up to him to decide what to do with Taiwan”, and arrives in Beijing ready to talk about this order too. China remains cautious, but hopes that the US will take steps forward by denying the island’s independence. During the talks, Xi Jinping stressed that “the Taiwan issue is the most important issue in relations between China and the United States” and that “if handled correctly, relations between the two countries can maintain overall stability”, but “if not handled correctly, the two countries could clash or even enter into conflict, pushing the entire Sino-American relationship into a very dangerous situation”.
Then there are the rare earths. One of Xi’s main tricks up his sleeve is dominance over materials crucial to microchips and high technology. The intention of the two countries remains to conclude massive trade agreements, and the creation of a Board of Investment to reduce obstacles to Chinese investments in the USA.
There will also be talk of duties in China. Trump has repeatedly threatened Beijing, imposing tariffs of more than 140% last year. But Xi counterattacked by blocking the export of rare earths and magnets. Ultimately, Trump relented. And during the visit to China a commercial peace will be attempted.
The Star-Spangled Banner plays as President Donald J. Trump is greeted by President Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. 🇺🇸🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/ANPzR3WQmi
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 14, 2026
The tycoon wants to cut off the alleged river of drugs that invades American streets from China, accusing Chinese companies of supplying chemical materials to Mexican cartels, who use them to produce the opioid. Xi instead demands the removal of the Dragon from the list of “main transit countries or producers of illicit drugs”.
The USA and China are rivals on the artificial intelligence front. The White House has accused Chinese companies of “industrial-scale” theft of intellectual property from American companies, while Beijing has protested against an American ban on the export of Nvidia chips to China. The bilateral could serve to review the respective positions.