United States President Donald Trump has left the White House en route to Beijing, where he will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Trump briefly spoke with reporters on Tuesday as he boarded Marine One, and is expected to arrive in China aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, with key meetings scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
US officials have recently downplayed the significance of the US-Israel war on Iran during Trump's visit. Beijing has made its opposition to the war clear and is alleged to have exerted behind-the-scenes pressure on its trading partner Iran, but has largely avoided direct involvement.
In recent days, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have stepped up calls for China to use its influence to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world's oil supply flowed before the war. However, Trump gave conflicting signals on Tuesday, first stating he would discuss the conflict at length with Xi, then claiming Iran was not a priority as it is "very much under control."
The upcoming meeting is the first face-to-face exchange between the leaders of the world's two largest economies since they met on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Busan, South Korea, in October 2025. It is Trump's second visit to China as president and his first since his second term began on January 20, 2025.
Beyond the war, the US regime has stressed that trade will be a top subject. Trump is seeking a series of business deals and has invited an array of US business leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook, to accompany him. Both sides are expected to avoid a return to the tariff war that saw Trump impose 145% tariffs on Chinese goods and China tighten rare-earth export controls. A fragile truce was reached in October last year.
China's continued support for Iran's ballistic program and its defense of Tehran's nuclear program risk derailing relations. Last month, Trump threatened a 50% tariff after reports that Beijing was preparing to deliver air defense systems to Iran, but later backed away, claiming he received written assurance from Xi. Xi is also expected to push Trump on US arms sales to Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as its own.
Source: www.aljazeera.com