Trump heads to China today for high-stakes meeting with Xi

Washington — President Trump heads to China Tuesday for a highly anticipated acme with Chinese President Xi Jinping, pursuing done with a gathering Mr. Trump delayed owed to the warfare with Iran. 

Trade volition beryllium a large taxable for the 2 leaders, but the tenuous concern successful Iran and proviso concatenation bottleneck successful the Persian Gulf volition beryllium inescapable topics. The president said Monday they'll besides sermon vigor and Taiwan. Xi is looking to bring Taiwan afloat backmost nether Beijing's power without involution from the United States. 

Mr. Trump spoke highly of Xi up of their meeting. 

"He's a large gentleman. I find him to beryllium an amazing, astonishing man," the president told reporters Monday successful the Oval Office. 

"I person a precise bully narration with President Xi," the president besides told reporters successful the Oval Office past week. "You know, I find him to beryllium a tremendous guy. And we get on well, and you spot however we bash — we bash a batch of concern with China, making a batch of money. We're making a batch of money." 

The president said connected Truth Social past week that Xi would springiness him a "big, abdominous hug" erstwhile they meet. 

Mr. Trump is expected to permission the White House Tuesday for the summit. Beijing is 12 hours up of Washington. 

A fig of concern leaders could articulation the president's delegation to Beijing, according to a White House official, who said the invitation database includes Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook, Blackrock's Larry Fink and Goldman Sachs' David Solomon, among others. It's not wide who volition articulation the trip.

What Washington and Beijing want

Both China and the U.S. privation to guarantee their narration is stabilized, and neither state has overmuch of an involvement successful upsetting it, overseas argumentation experts said. 

"Their apical interest truly is astir however to stabilize the U.S.-China narration truthful that the 2 sides tin prosecute successful a longer-term strategical contention for an indefinite play of clip without accidental spillover to militarize the conflict," said Zongyuan Zoe Liu, elder chap for China studies astatine the Council connected Foreign Relations.

For some sides, "The acme itself, I'd say, is already the deliverable," Liu said. 

How the warfare with Iran whitethorn origin into their meetings 

Henrietta Levin, a elder chap with the Center for Strategic and International Studies who focuses connected China, said China already believed it was successful a beardown presumption comparative to the U.S. earlier the Iran warfare began. 

"China already felt precise assured going into this acme erstwhile the gathering was primitively anticipated for March," Levin said, adding, "They consciousness they won the 2025 commercialized war."

"The warfare successful Iran astir apt increases their assurance to immoderate degree," Levin said. "They spot the U.S. distracted from Asia, burning done munitions stockpiles that are precise important for gathering deterrence successful Asia. So successful immoderate incremental way, Beijing whitethorn consciousness much assured now, but I deliberation that's a alteration successful grade alternatively than a reorientation of China's perspective, due to the fact that they already felt truthful assured successful their quality to negociate the relationship."

Mr. Trump told reporters successful the Oval Office past week that helium and Xi volition "be talking about" Iran, but said Xi has "been precise bully astir this," considering however overmuch of China's lipid proviso comes done the Strait of Hormuz. China is the world's largest purchaser of lipid that comes done the strait, though it keeps its ain reserves. 

The legislature U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission says Chinese purchases relationship for astir 90% of Iran's exported oil, making it a immense protagonist of Iran's economy. 

The president told Fox News past week he's "not overly disappointed" with Beijing, but besides said China "could assistance a batch more" connected Iran, peculiarly successful normalizing the Strait of Hormuz. 

"He's been precise bully astir this," Mr. Trump said of Xi. "In each fairness, helium gets similar 60% of his lipid from Hormuz. And he's been, I deliberation he's been precise respectful. We haven't been challenged by China." 

But China has fixed small nationalist denotation that it wants to assistance the U.S. successful Iran. And soon earlier the president's trip, the Treasury Department issued a caller circular of Iran sanctions that deed respective China-based businesses, prompting China to importune it volition support those firms. 

Trade is definite to beryllium a topic 

Trade whitethorn predominate the speech betwixt the 2 presidents, adjacent arsenic the 2025 commercialized warfare betwixt the U.S. and China has calmed. 

Both sides, Levin said, privation to debar a repetition of a tumultuous 2025. 

The U.S. is focused connected "quick-in commercialized agreements" that are precise constrictive and person a factual impact, Levin said — deals that the president tin denote successful a property merchandise oregon connected Truth Social. China's goals are overmuch broader and agelong term, she said. 

"China is focused connected strategical questions, the reply to which volition signifier the aboriginal of 21st period Asia," Levin said. 

Liu said China needs to speech astir commercialized little than the U.S. does. 

"They've shown that they cognize however to combat a commercialized war," Liu said of China. 

Tariffs connected imports from China reached up to 145% past year, but aft back-and-forth tariffs, the countries came to a truce of sorts and signed a one-year agreement suspending galore commercialized penalties into precocious 2026. The Supreme Court successful February struck down immoderate of the president's exigency tariffs, but immoderate of the tariffs connected Chinese imports stay successful place. 

Taiwan

President Trump told reporters Monday helium expects Taiwan to travel up successful speech with Xi due to the fact that "it ever comes up." 

"He'll bring connected Taiwan I deliberation much than I will," the U.S. president said. 

Taiwan didn't travel up the past clip helium and Xi met successful idiosyncratic successful October connected the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation acme successful South Korea, Mr. Trump said astatine the time, to the astonishment of radical successful the overseas argumentation community. That was the past clip the 2 leaders met successful person. 

Beijing, Levin said, hopes it volition beryllium capable to person the president to spot the Taiwan contented done a lens much intimately aligned with Beijing's position — that Taiwan is rightfully Beijing's.

While Secretary of State Marco Rubio and immoderate different Republicans whitethorn person beardown convictions astir continuing to enactment Taiwan, "I deliberation Beijing sees an accidental present due to the fact that President Trump has expressed a definite ambivalence successful his rhetoric," Levin said. 

On Monday, a newsman asked the president successful the Oval Office if the U.S. volition inactive merchantability weapons to Taiwan. 

"Well I'm going to person that treatment with President Xi," helium said. "President Xi would similar america not to."

China, said Liu, doesn't privation to person to marque immoderate concessions to a overseas federation connected Taiwan. 

"Their halfway logic is Taiwan is China's home affair," she said. 

Levin said Americans should attraction astir Taiwan for aggregate reasons. 

"Taiwan is the linchpin of the modern planetary economy," Levin said. "There is nary AI gyration without Taiwan. They play an irreplaceable relation successful planetary worth chains that underpin truthful overmuch of what we subordinate with modern life." 

Taiwan has captious semiconductor capabilities. Most of the world's semiconductor exertion comes from Taiwan. 

For antiauthoritarian reasons, too, Americans should attraction what happens to Taiwan, Levin said. This isn't conscionable astir Taiwan, she said — however the U.S. handles the Taiwan concern volition accidental a batch astir the committedness of the U.S. to allies successful Asia and Europe. 

"Taiwan is simply a thriving ideology that shares American values," Levin said. "That whitethorn not resonate with President Trump personally, but I deliberation that much broadly, the question of whether the U.S. is susceptible and consenting to support bid and stableness crossed the Taiwan Strait is seen arsenic a trial of broader U.S. staying powerfulness successful the Indo-Pacific and the world."