President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Beijing today, 13, May, 2026 for a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping their first face-to-face talks in six months, following a trade war truce reached last October.
The state visit, originally planned for April, was postponed due to the ongoing U.S.-Iran war, with the White House ultimately scheduling the trip from May 12 to 15.
According to reports gathered by Truthlive News International, Trump will make the trip amid record-low voter popularity and spiking gas prices driven by the conflict in Iran, making the summit a critical opportunity for the embattled president to secure a foreign policy win.
The agenda is dense and fraught with risk. Trade, Taiwan, and the Iran war are all expected to loom large over discussions between the two leaders, with each issue carrying consequences well beyond Washington and Beijing.
Trump is likely to press Xi to join an international operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz a request China has so far resisted. At the same time, Xi is expected to seek concessions on trade, rare-earth minerals, and U.S. recognition of China’s claims over Taiwan.
The Chinese trade experts anticipate the two leaders may also announce trade deals, such as a Chinese purchase of American agricultural products or Boeing aircraft.
The summit has revived discussion of a so-called “Group of Two,” an informal framework in which the world’s two largest superpowers could jointly steer global affairs a prospect that has unsettled U.S. allies.
Europe in particular fears a bilateral deal that could cut it out and accelerate its declining influence on the world stage, especially as transatlantic tensions remain elevated over NATO, Ukraine, and trade.
Analysts at the Council on Foreign Relations described the meeting as an effort to stabilise U.S.-China relations rather than resolve long-standing disputes, with deep disagreements over Taiwan, South China Sea navigation, and Beijing’s ties to Russia and Iran still very much unresolved.
