Donald Trump to visit China from May 13 to 15 at Xi Jinping's invitation: What's on agenda?
US President Donald Trump is set to visit China on Wednesday for a three-day visit that is expected to focus on Iran, trade disputes and a range of strategic issues. The trip was postponed earlier due to unrest in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump is set to embark on a three-day visit to China, scheduled from May 13 to 15, Beijing confirmed on Monday. During the visit, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to hold discussions on the West Asia crisis and trade relations between the two nations. "At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, President of the United States of America Donald J Trump will pay a state visit to China from May 13 to 15," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Iran and Russia expected to dominate discussions
Ahead of the high-profile meeting, senior US officials revealed that the two leaders have held several conversations on Iran and Russia. "The President has spoken multiple times with General Secretary Xi Jinping about the topic of Iran and about the topic of Russia, to include the revenue that China provides for both those regimes and therefore as well as do use goods, components and parts, not to mention the potential of weapons exports," they said. Officials added that the two sides are engaged in continuous dialogue regarding Iran as preparations for the summit gain momentum.
Trade, investment and industry agreements on the agenda
Talks will also include progress on a proposed US-China Board of Trade and Board of Investment. Both nations aim to identify shared priorities in trade. Discussions on agreements linked to aerospace, agriculture and energy are expected to feature prominently. Officials noted that after this visit, Trump plans to host Xi and Madam Peng for a return visit in Washington DC later this year.
Taiwan policy clarified amid speculation
Responding to questions about Washington's stance on Taiwan, US officials said the leaders discuss the matter regularly but confirmed no policy changes. "There is an ongoing conversation between President Trump and General Secretary Xi Jinping about Taiwan. Certainly, the last couple of times they've interacted, it has been a point of discussion. There's been no change of US policy coming out of those. We don't expect to see any changes in US policy going forward," they said.
Fresh US sanctions on Iran add tension
The upcoming meeting follows new US sanctions announced last week targeting Iran's financial and energy sectors, intensifying pressure on Tehran and its commercial networks with China. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted on X that Iran is "the head of the snake for global terrorism" and that the Treasury was acting "aggressively" through the initiative titled "Economic Fury". "We will relentlessly target the regime's ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds, and pursue anyone enabling Tehran's attempts to evade sanctions," he added.