Trump arrives in Beijing for summit with Xi Jinping
It is, however, not clear how Trump hopes to achieve a talk to make China drop its trusted ally Iran for a United States that has inflicted it with much sanctions, in a multipolar era that is pushing back against the petrodollar economy and is already embracing a new world order that has chosen the Chinese economy as more favourable alternative.
United States President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday May 13, 2026 for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The meeting is aimed at easing deep tensions between the rival superpowers, AFP reporters saw.
Trump’s Air Force One touched down at Beijing Capital International Airport after the long flight from Washington, beginning the first visit to China by a US president in nearly a decade.
Aside issue of Taiwanese independence, which has been driving a wedge between the two superpowers, Trump is believed to be in Beijing to beg the Chinese President to prevail on Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for 21 percent of the world economy. On Taiwan, China claims it as part of its territory and is expected to push the US to soften its support for the self-governing island when Xi and Trump meet between Thursday May 14 and Friday May 15, 2026.
Also Donald Trump’s visit is to demand Chinese President Xi Jinping “open up” the country to American businesses as he sought to put stronger business ties at the heart of his visit for a two-day summit.
The call from the US president, who is being accompanied to China by top executives, came ahead of meetings on Thursday and Friday clouded by geopolitical tensions over Iran and Taiwan and by conflict over trade and technology that has strained ties between the world’s largest economies.
Trump said his “very first request” to Xi would be to create a more favourable environment for top American companies, which have long complained of regulatory obstacles to their operations in China.
In a Truth Social post as he flew to China on Air Force One following a refuelling stop in Alaska, Trump listed top US business leaders who would be attending the summit, including key figures on Wall Street such as Blackstone chief Stephen Schwarzman and BlackRock’s Larry Fink, as well as Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX and Apple’s Tim Cook.
Trump also said that Jensen Huang, chief executive of chipmaker Nvidia, had joined him on the flight to Beijing in Alaska, after he was initially not expected to attend.
“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 on Truth Social. “In fact, I promise, that when we are together, which will be in a matter of hours, I will make that my very first request,” he added.
It is, however, not clear how Trump hopes to achieve a talk to make China drop its trusted ally Iran for a United States that has inflicted it with much sanctions, in a multipolar era that is pushing back against the petrodollar economy and is already embracing a new world order that has chosen the Chinese economy as more favourable alternative.
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