Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump started a crucial series of meetings in Beijing on Thursday in a U.S.-China summit where stability in the relationship is the main goal of the two days of discussions.
The White House and Chinese state media said the leaders concluded their meeting Thursday morning after about two hours. Trump is expected to leave just after midday Friday after a final private meeting with Xi. But few breakthroughs are expected on divisive
issues ranging from the Iran war, trade, technology and Taiwan.
Trump hopes to focus the summit talks on trade and deals for China to buy more agricultural products and passenger planes, setting up a board to address their differences and avoid a repeat of the trade war ignited last year after Trump’s tariff hikes.
In their closed-door meeting, Xi told Trump that if Taiwan is handled well, U.S.-China relations “will enjoy overall stability." If not, the two countries risk “clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy,” Xi said, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.
Trump in December authorized an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own territory. The U.S. has not yet moved forward with delivery.
Xi said China’s door of opening to U.S. business will only open wider, he told American corporate leaders who accompanied Trump. The U.S. president said the business leaders all respect and value China and he encourages them to expand cooperation with China, Xinhua reported.
The war with Iran is also likely to be a key topic. Ahead of the meetings, Trump hoped China would use its considerable leverage to prod Iran to agree to U.S. terms to end the two-month old war or reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz, but he has tempered those calls ahead of the summit.
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Economic ties between China and the United States are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature, Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. President Donald Trump during their talks, according to the Chinese official news agency Xinhua.
“Yesterday, our economic and trade teams produced generally balanced and positive outcomes. This is good news for the people of the two countries and the world,” Xi said.
The Chinese president said facts have shown time and again there are no winners in trade wars, calling on both sides to jointly sustain the good momentum they have worked hard to build, Xinhua reported.
“Where disagreements and frictions exist, equal-footed consultation is the only right choice,” he said.
Trump was expected to return to his hotel before he returns to the Great Hall of the People to attend a state banquet in his honor.
Asian shares were mixed Thursday as investors closely monitored takeaways from U.S. President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The Shanghai Composite index lost 1% to 4,199.19. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.3% to 26,478.99. Markets in Japan and South Korea were higher, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 up 0.2% and Seoul’s Kospi gaining 1%.
Investors are watching for progress on the Iran war and U.S.-China trade relations from the Xi-Trump summit, as well as possible trade deals on areas such as soybeans, airplanes and chips.
Trump said, “great,” when reporters asked how the talks with Xi went. But that’s about all he said.
Follow-up questions about whether they discussed Taiwan were asked.
Trump didn’t answer as he posed alongside Xi for photos after they arrived at the Temple of Heaven.
Xi said China’s door of opening to American business will only open wider and wider he told American CEO's on Wednesday morning during his meeting with Trump, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.
Xi said American companies are deeply participating in China’s reform and opening, with both sides benefiting from this. He said China welcomes the U.S. to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with China and believes American businesses will have even broader prospects in China, according to Xinhua.
Trump said the business leaders he brought along all respect and value China and he encourages them to expand cooperation with China, the report said.
Trump introduced the business leaders to Xi one by one. The business people said they highly value China’s market, hope to deepen their operations in China and strengthen cooperation with China, the report added.
Traveling to China as part of the U.S. delegation are some 17 CEOs, including Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook and Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, the White House says.
The 15th century temple was Trump’s next stop after meeting with Xi at the Great Hall of the People.
A tour was planned.
The White House and Chinese state media said the leaders concluded their meeting after about two hours of talks.
The leaders discussed trade, Taiwan and other differences in the U.S.-China relationship
In a closed-door meeting Xi told Trump that if Taiwan is handled well, U.S.-China relations “will enjoy overall stability,” according to a readout of their bilateral talks published by the official Xinhua news agency.
If not, however, the two countries risk “clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy,” Xi was reported to have said.
The U.S. and China should be “partners rather than rivals,” Xi told Trump ahead of their bilateral talks.
“I always believed that the common interests between China and the U.S. outweigh their differences,” Xi said. “Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both.”
Xi added that he wanted 2026 to be a “landmark year” in the countries’
The Chinese leader took a moment to note the coming anniversary — something that is a big deal for Trump.
The massive monthslong celebration is to include a “Great American State Fair” in Washington and a UFC fight night on the South Lawn of the White House.
“This year marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. I extend my congratulations to you and to the American people,” Xi said. He added, “I firmly believe the common interests between China and the United States are bigger than our differences.”
The leaders offered warm words about each other and hope for the future of U.S-China relations as they opened their bilateral talks.
But Xi sounded more cautionary about what lies ahead for the world’s biggest economic powers.
“Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both,” Xi said. “The two countries should be partners rather than rivals, achieve success together and pursue common prosperity, and chart a correct path for major-country relations in the new era.”
In remarks welcoming Trump, Xi name-checked an ancient Greek historian to express his hopes that the U.S. and China can avoid conflict, saying that history, the world and its people were asking “whether the two countries can transcend the “Thucydides Trap” and forge a new model for relations between major powers.
“He was using a term that’s popular in foreign policy studies, referring to the idea that when a rising power threatens to displace an established power, the result is often war.
It comes from Thucydides’ account of the destructive Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, in which he remarked that “It was the rise of Athens, and the fear that rise engendered in Sparta, that made war inevitable.”
The Chinese leader in his opening remarks at the summit underscored the importance of the moment for the two world powers and said the question before China and the United States is “whether the two countries can work together to meet challenges and bring greater stability to the world.”
“Can we, in the interest of the well-being of our two peoples and the future of humanity, build a brighter future together for our bilateral relations?” Xi said.
In his opening comments before reporters to start the meeting, Trump only made glancing allusion to past difficulties in his yearslong relationship with Xi.
Those include two trade wars, tensions over U.S. support for Taiwan — and Trump's impatience with Beijing over the flow precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.
He also made no mention of their differences over the Iran war.
“You’re a great leader, sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true,” Trump said.
Trump and Xi stood side by side for the playing of their countries’ national anthems on Thursday as their summit got underway.
The leaders than walked the red carpet, accompanied by a goose stepping Chinese service member, to inspect the military honor guard.
Trump and Xi also paused for a moment in front of dozens of flower-waiving children gathered for the ceremony.
Trump has talked up his personal rapport with Xi despite deep differences on a slew of issues.
Sen. Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that Trump would be misguided to put too much stock in his personal dynamic with the Chinese leader.
“We cannot afford to trade lasting American strength for a short-term political win or to mistake a photo op for real strategic progress,” Warner said. “Any agreement reached with Beijing during this summit must deliver tangible results for American workers, our security, and our long-term competitiveness.”
The secretary of state, who is with Trump in Beijing, said administration officials will underscore that “economies are melting down because of this crisis” and that will result in consumers “buying less Chinese product.”
“So it’s in their interest to resolve this,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf.”
The message contrasts with comments by Trump, who downplayed differences with Xi over Iran before departing from Washington.
“We have a lot of things to discuss,” Trump told reporters. “I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control.”
The president arrived in Beijing late on Wednesday. On Thursday, the summit begins in earnest.
China's Xi will officially welcome Trump during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, followed by bilateral talks.
Then there’s some cultural programming — a visit to the Temple of Heaven — before a state banquet capping the day.
This trip is expected to be long on pageantry and symbolism but neither side has yet offered concrete details on what Trump will come away with.
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The Great Hall of the People was built in 1959 for the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It’s a massive structure, some 171,800 square meters or 42.5 acres, on the western side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
This is where China hosts most of its foreign dignitaries, as well as key events like the annual meeting of its ceremonial legislature. The hall covers an area bigger than the Forbidden Palace.
Construction of the building was completed in a quick 10 months, and mostly with manpower. China was not heavily industrialized and the chief engineer for the project at the time, Yang Sixin, told state media that “the bricks that needed to go up were all transported by hand, carried in baskets with a pole. I’ve also carried the bricks up myself.”
While the structure’s size and towering structure is similar to buildings found in the Soviet style, its decorations inside were designed by referencing Chinese history, such as floral designs from the Tang dynasty.
