US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping opened high-stakes talks in Beijing on 14 May after a lavish welcome ceremony, with both men emphasizing their personal relationship and the need for closer cooperation despite growing tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
“It’s an honor to be with you,” Trump said in the Great Hall of the People after a red-carpet welcome featuring a military band, a cannon salute, and children waving flags and flowers. “It’s an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.”
Xi struck a more measured tone, framing the summit as a test of whether Beijing and Washington can manage their rivalry amid mounting global instability.
He said that the question now is “whether China and the United States can transcend the so-called ‘Thucydides Trap’ and pioneer a new paradigm of major-country relations,” referring to the theory that rising powers and established powers are often drawn toward conflict.
“We should be partners rather than opponents, achieve success for one another, prosper together, and forge a correct way for major countries of the new era to get along with each other,” Xi added.
The meeting marks the first in-person talks between Trump and Xi since their October 2025 meeting in South Korea and Trump’s first visit to China since 2017. Beyond formal negotiations, the two leaders are scheduled to tour Beijing’s Temple of Heaven before attending a state banquet in the evening.
Despite the upbeat opening remarks, the summit comes against the backdrop of a relationship increasingly defined by disputes over trade, Taiwan, technology, and conflicts stretching from Iran to Ukraine. Analysts say the rivalry between Washington and Beijing is unlikely to fundamentally ease even if the summit produces symbolic gestures or limited agreements.
“Despite any sweeping declarations, the long-term trajectory remains strategic rivalry,” Daniel Russel, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told RFE/RL. “Most outcomes will be limited, transactional, and potentially reversible.”
Trade tensions remain at the center of Trump’s agenda in Beijing, while Xi appears intent on presenting China as a stable and cooperative partner despite years of escalating friction with Washington.
“Trump wants stability heading into the midterms and while the United States remains tied down by the Iran conflict. He also wants to claim a major personal diplomatic success,” Russel said. “Beijing wants a stable external environment while managing economic pressures at home. Expect modest, transactional outcomes wrapped in grand rhetoric.”
During their meeting in South Korea last year, Trump and Xi agreed to ease a rapidly escalating trade dispute after Beijing threatened broad restrictions on rare earth exports in response to steep US tariffs on Chinese imports. China ultimately postponed the measures for a year, and whether the temporary arrangement will be renewed is a key issue during the summit.
Rare earths — a group of 17 minerals essential for products ranging from smartphones to fighter jets — have become a major point of leverage for Beijing as competition intensifies over advanced technologies and global supply chains. China dominates much of the world’s mining and processing capacity for the materials.
Yvonne Chiu, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said Xi is likely to press Trump for relief from US export controls on advanced technology and for assurances that Washington will avoid imposing additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
Taiwan is also expected to feature prominently in the talks, with analysts saying it remains Beijing’s most sensitive security issue. China views the self-ruled island as part of its territory and has pledged to eventually unify with it, including through military force if necessary. Chinese officials are likely to press Trump to curb US support for Taipei and reduce American arms sales to the island.
“Xi Jinping would like some concessions on or some reassurances about Taiwan and what Trump would do in the event that China ramps up the pressure on the island,” Chiu told RFE/RL. “That also relates to a bigger goal for Beijing, which is pushing back the United States in the Indo-Pacific.”
Trump has publicly emphasized trade and investment ahead of the summit. Potential agreements could include expanded Chinese purchases of US agricultural products, aircraft, and other goods. The US president is also accompanied by several prominent business executives, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
The war in Iran and competition over artificial intelligence are also expected to feature prominently in the discussions. Before departing Washington, Trump said he planned to raise the case of jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai during the trip.
(RFE/RL)
