Washington, United States. President Donald Trump said he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14 and 15, rescheduling his first visit to China in eight years after a delay linked to the Iran war. The trip is being closely watched as the United States and China manage a tense relationship between the world’s biggest economies.
Rescheduled Beijing visit and planned reciprocal trip
Trump said in a Truth Social post on Wednesday that the trip, initially slated for next week, will take place in Beijing on May 14 and 15. He added that he would host Xi for a reciprocal visit in Washington later this year.
Trump said, “Our Representatives are finalizing preparations for these Historic Visits,” and added, “I look very much forward to spending time with President Xi in what will be, I am sure, a Monumental Event.”
China’s embassy said it had no information to provide on the announcement of the visit. Beijing normally does not detail Xi’s schedule more than a few days in advance.
Context: trade, tariffs ruling, and Iran operation
The trip and Washington’s broader effort to reset relations in the Asia Pacific region have been repeatedly overtaken by events.
In February, the Supreme Court curtailed the U.S. president’s power to impose tariffs, which had been a source of leverage for Trump in negotiations with the United States’ third-biggest trading partner. Later that month, Trump’s joint military operation with Israel against Iran introduced a new point of tension with Beijing, Tehran’s main oil buyer.
Previous meetings and focus of the visit
Trump’s last trip to China, in 2017, was the most recent by a U.S. president. The May visit is set to be the leaders’ first in-person talks since an October meeting in South Korea, where they agreed on a trade truce.
A White House statement said Xi understands Trump’s reasons for the delay. The two-day trip is expected to combine the lavish pomp and circumstance that has become a feature of Trump’s trips abroad with hard-nosed diplomacy.
What do you expect will be the main outcomes of Trump’s meetings with Xi in Beijing?
