Updated May 14, 2026, 11:51 a.m. ET
President Donald Trump is in China for a packed two-day trip, including one-on-ones with President Xi Jinping, in the first U.S. state visit to China in nearly a decade.
In November, Trump announced he had accepted an invitation to visit China in April, but that was delayed as the war in Iran took priority in U.S. foreign policy.
Even before the delay, the two superpower leaders had plenty to talk about. In Trump’s first year back in office, China and the United States went tit for tat in a tariff trade war, straining relations and setting off widespread trade disruptions. Now, the U.S. war on Iran is also likely to dominate discussions during the visit, as China gets about 60% of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, straining energy markets.
Trump arrived in Beijing on the evening of Tuesday, May 13, local time, which was Wednesday morning in the United States. Over the next two days, he’s scheduled to participate in a bilateral meeting with Xi and to attend a state banquet and a working lunch. Trump is set to depart the afternoon of Friday, May 15, local time.
What is on the agenda?
Taiwan, the Iran war, the Trump administration’s aggressive tariff agenda and the future of tech are expected to take center stage at Trump’s face-to-face meeting with Xi.
Eric Trump, his wife Lara Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth are all accompanying Trump for the three-day visit. Tech executive Elon Musk is also taking part in the visit as part of a delegation of more than a dozen CEOs.
Why is Taiwan so important to China?
Taiwan views itself as independent, but China seeks to reunite with the democratically governed territory.
For decades, the Republic of China in Taipei also claimed to be the legitimate Chinese government, but in 1971, China took over Taiwan’s seat in the United Nations. In 1979, the United States recognized the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the country’s sole legal government, acknowledging the position that there is one China, and Taiwan is part of the nation.
However, the United States has maintained a decades-long unofficial relationship with Taiwan and pledged various forms of security support over several U.S. administrations.
Most major Western countries and U.S. allies maintain close unofficial ties with Taiwan by recognizing the Republic of China passport and having de facto embassies in one another’s capitals. A dozen countries, including several small island nations, Belize and Guatemala, maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei.
Broadly speaking, the Chinese government wants the United States to back away from Biden-era pledges to support Taiwan in the event of a military conflict and adhere to the “one-China” policy. American intelligence previously said Xi instructed his military to be ready to conduct an invasion as soon as 2027.
Does Xi Jinping speak English?
It’s unclear what level of fluency the Chinese president may have, but he routinely uses English translators and has not made any public addresses in English.
Contributing: Kinsey Crowley, Francesca Chambers, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Reuters.
Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her atkapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.
