Trump and Xi Jinping meet this week in Beijing/ What will be the focus of the talks?

2026-05-11 08:34:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Trump and Xi Jinping meet this week in Beijing/ What will be the focus of the

Beijing has confirmed that United States President Donald Trump will travel to China this week to meet with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

The planned visit, from May 13 to 15, will be the first to China by a US president in nearly a decade and comes at a crucial moment for ties between the world's two largest economies.

Executives from some of America's biggest companies, including Boeing, Citigroup and Qualcomm, are expected to travel with Trump, potentially to strike deals with Chinese firms. It will also mark a key test of the fragile trade truce between Washington and Beijing.

Agreements on aircraft, agriculture and trade

The US and China are expected to agree on forums to facilitate mutual trade and investment, while China is expected to announce purchases related to Boeing aircraft, US agriculture and energy, officials told foreign media.

Plans for a Trade Board and an Investment Board could be formally announced at the meeting, but these mechanisms may need further work before they can be implemented, one of the officials said.

The two countries will also discuss extending a truce in their trade war that allows rare earth minerals to flow from China to the US, although it is not yet clear whether that agreement will be extended this week.

The most sensitive issues include Taiwan, nuclear weapons, Iran and AI.

The Trump-Xi talks are also expected to delve into areas that have long been a source of US-China tension, including Iran, Taiwan and nuclear weapons.

China maintains ties with Iran and remains a major consumer of its oil exports. Trump has relied on China to use its influence to push Tehran to make a deal with Washington and end the conflict that began when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February.

The Trump administration has also pressured China over its relations with Russia. Meanwhile, Xi has been at odds with Washington over Taiwan. The United States remains the most important international supporter and arms supplier to the democratically-ruled island, which Beijing claims as its own Chinese territory. China has increased its military presence near Taiwan in recent years, but U.S. policy will not change, the official said.

Trump aides expressed growing concern about advanced artificial intelligence models being developed in China and believed that both sides need "a channel of communication" to avoid conflicts arising from their use. /CNA