U.S. President Donald Trump landed at Beijing airport on Wednesday evening for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The visit is expected to be marked by an elaborate reception, judging by the heavy security presence already in place since the morning around the cordoned-off hotels where the Republican leader and his entourage will be staying.
Trump’s visit to China follows years of tensions and marks the first time in almost a decade that a leader of the world’s largest economy has set foot in the second largest. The last time this happened was in 2017, when Trump himself visited China.
The meeting will serve to gauge the balance of power between the two superpowers after a 2025 marked by tariffs, in which the two leaders pushed the trade war to the limit — right to the brink — before sealing a fragile pause last October in Busan, South Korea. After a first night of theoretical calm, with no scheduled agenda, Xi will receive Trump on Thursday morning at the Great Hall of the People, the gigantic building reserved for major political events.
On Wednesday, Trump appeared at the door of the enormous presidential aircraft at exactly 8:08 p.m. in Beijing, in what seems like a highly calculated gesture to start off on the right foot — the number 8 is considered lucky in China — and from the top of the stairway, pumped his fist in his characteristic manner. On the ground, he was received by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, while 300 Chinese teenagers waved flags from both countries to the rhythm of a military march.
Economic issues are expected to dominate the face-to-face talks, including discussions on trade imbalances, transactions, and investments; Trump and Xi will most likely address the thorny issue of the war in the Middle East; and Trump already said on Monday that he also plans to broach what may be China’s most existential issue — Taiwan — raising some alarm on the self-governed island that Beijing considers an inalienable part of its territory.
With the U.S. attack on Iran still raw and its lightning operation in Venezuela still smoldering, an opening has emerged for China to put its interests regarding Taiwan on the table.
Trump has travelled to China accompanied by a large delegation of multinational executives, underscoring the economic focus of the trip. Trump sees the meeting as an opportunity to expand business and investment, in line with what the two governments’ envoys — Vice Premier He Lifeng and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — set out on Wednesday during a last-minute preparatory meeting in Seoul.
Mid-flight, Trump offered clues about the friendly tone he intends to strike during his visit to the “Great Country of China,” as he called it on his Truth Social platform shortly after departing the United States. In a post, he listed the striking lineup of executives travelling with him: from his rekindled ally Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX) to Tim Cook (Apple), as well as Larry Fink (BlackRock, the world’s largest investment fund) and Jensen Huang (Nvidia, the chip designer and the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization).
“I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to ‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level,” Trump wrote. “I promise, that when we are together, which will be in a matter of hours, I will make that my very first request. I have never seen or heard of any idea that would be more beneficial to our incredible Countries!”
In addition to calls for greater openness — a recurring theme in dealings with China — the real estate magnate is also expected to press Beijing to use its influence with Tehran to help stabilize the fraught situation in the Middle East, where the fragile ceasefire is on shaky ground.
For China, the meeting offers a chance to project an image of stability, composure, and cooperation, after standing firm against Washington’s tariff pressure by leveraging its dominance in rare earths.
Beijing sees itself with room to manoeuvre and partly victorious in this latest trade battle. Many analysts expect it to use Washington’s weakness to push for a reduction in arms support for Taiwan and a shift in the long-standing ambiguous language underpinning the delicate balance in the strait.
“China understands that Taiwan independence would change the status quo. That is why it will ask Trump to openly declare that the United States opposes Taiwan independence,” says Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Studies at Renmin University in Beijing.
The issue of arms sales was already made clear by Xi Jinping in a phone call with his counterpart in February, shortly after Washington approved in December the sale of a landmark $11 billion weapons package.
In his readout of what he described as an “excellent” conversation, Trump largely glossed over Taiwan. The official Chinese readout was far more emphatic: Xi told him that the U.S. position on Taiwan “is the most important issue in China-U. S. relations,” and stressed that China “will never allow Taiwan to be separated from China.” Xi issued a warning: “The U.S. must handle arms sales to Taiwan with extreme caution.”
Wang summed up Beijing’s position this way: “China has asked that the U.S. not sell arms to Taiwan; otherwise, we cannot purchase the so-called three Bs,” he said, referring to soybeans, beef, and Boeing aircraft— three of the economic demands Trump is bringing to the meeting. He believes the upcoming midterm elections, and Trump’s need to shore up part of his electorate, will tilt the balance in Beijing’s favour: “I don’t think he will sell [the arms].”
A change in the language of any statement “would probably be considered Xi’s biggest victory,” noted George Chen, an analyst at The Asia Group, on Wednesday during an online discussion about the summit. Evan Medeiros, also from The Asia Group and a former Obama adviser on China and Asia affairs, listed among the “risks” to watch — not only Taiwan, but also China’s “reluctance” to help on Iran.
But there are signs it may step up. Late on Tuesday, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, held a phone call with Pakistan’s foreign minister — the country leading the peace talks — and urged him to “step up mediation efforts, and contribute to properly addressing issues related to opening the Strait of Hormuz.”
At roughly the same time, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed he would join the delegation heading to China. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also traveled to China, along with more than a dozen senior officials, but Hegseth’s presence is unusual: defence chiefs rarely take part in state visits.
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