Awaiting Trump's Face-to-Face Meeting with Xi Jinping in China
The meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is imminent. This is the first visit by a US President to China in the last 10 years.
Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday (13/5) local time and will remain in China until Friday (15/5). The visit was originally planned for March but was postponed due to the war raging as the US confronted Iran.
Before departing, Trump stated that he expects “long talks” with Xi about Iran, which relies on China as its main customer for sanctioned oil.
However, Trump also sought to downplay differences over Iran, saying that Xi has been “relatively good”.
“I think we don’t need any help regarding Iran. We will win it one way or another. We will win it peacefully or otherwise,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House.
This state visit by Trump – the first since his last trip to Beijing in 2017 – will involve key discussions with Xi on Thursday (14/5) and Friday (15/5) local time, during a packed schedule that includes a state dinner and a tea reception.
What Will Trump Discuss?
Trump said on Monday (11/5) that he will speak with Xi about US arms sales to Taiwan, a country with its own democratic government that Beijing claims. This marks a shift from the historic US assertion that it would not consult China on its support for Taiwan.
China’s control over rare earth metal exports and turbulent trade relations are also expected to be topics of discussion between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies.
Regarding the conflict in Iran, Trump said he will not discuss the issue with Xi. Trump claimed he does not need Xi to find a way out of the conflict that began two and a half months ago with a massive US-Israeli attack, leading to a stalemate over control of the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.
“We have a lot to discuss. Honestly, I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, because we have Iran under very good control,” Trump said.
“We will make a deal or they will be destroyed,” he added.
Trump Accompanied by Tycoons
During his visit to China, according to the White House, Trump is accompanied by a large number of top US business executives, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
In addition, the delegation includes top executives from the American financial and technology sectors such as:
Goldman Sachs - David Solomon
Blackstone - Stephen Schwarzman
BlackRock - Larry Fink
Citigroup - Jane Fraser
Meta - Dina Powell McCormick
Other figures reportedly joining the entourage include leaders from Boeing, Cisco, Visa, Mastercard, Qualcomm, and Micron.