US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on May 13 for a closely watched summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, as the war in Iran and its fallout on global energy markets loom over efforts to stabilize ties between the world’s two largest economies.
Trump, making his first trip to China since 2017, will begin two days of formal talks with Xi on May 14. While trade tensions, Taiwan, artificial intelligence, and rare earth exports are expected to dominate the agenda, the ongoing conflict in Iran and the near paralysis of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have added urgency — and complexity — to the meeting.
Speaking before departing Washington, Trump downplayed suggestions that Beijing could play a decisive role in ending the war.
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“I don’t think we need any help with Iran,” Trump told reporters at the White House on May 12. “We’ll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise.”
The summit is expected to test whether Washington and Beijing can preserve a fragile equilibrium at a time of mounting global instability. Both governments, analysts say, appear focused on maintaining stability in one of the world’s most consequential bilateral relationships as economic uncertainty and geopolitical crises mount globally.
“Both China and the United States have a vested interest in creating a steady state relationship between the two of them,” Rana Mitter, ST Lee chair in US-Asia relations at the Harvard Kennedy School, told RFE/RL. “The United States clearly has active interests elsewhere, particularly in the Middle East at the moment, and China also is keen to restart its faltering economy.”
Trade Truce Under Pressure
Despite the geopolitical backdrop, both sides have signaled that trade and economic issues will remain the centerpiece of the summit.
“We’re going to be talking with President Xi about a lot of different things,” Trump said before boarding Air Force One. “More than anything else will be trade.”
The visit also comes at a politically delicate moment for both leaders.
Trump has faced domestic criticism over the economic fallout from the Iran war, particularly rising fuel prices and inflation concerns tied to disruptions in Middle Eastern energy supplies.
