WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump will arrive in Beijing on Wednesday evening for a two-day meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss a host of economic and security issues based on the principle of “reciprocity and fairness” to improve the lives of Americans, the White House said Sunday.
Following weeks of preparations for the high-stakes summit, the Trump administration, for the first time, outlined some of his schedule and the major topics to be discussed by the two presidents, spanning trade and artificial intelligence to Iran and Taiwan.
A senior U.S. official said there has been no change of U.S. policy toward Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China claims as part of its territory, and he does not expect it to alter in the future.
The statement came amid speculation that one of Xi’s major goals during his talks with Trump is to shift the U.S. position on Taiwan.
Recent remarks by Chinese officials have suggested that Xi could also urge Trump to stop U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
The U.S. official, however, stressed that more Taiwan-bound arms sales had been approved in the first year of Trump’s second administration than in the entire four years of the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden.
Trump’s visit to China, the first by a U.S. president since his 2017 trip, will proceed even though the Iran war is dragging on and the situation in the Middle East remains fluid.
The official said Trump had spoken with Xi multiple times about the conflict, and he expects their conversation on U.S. efforts to end hostilities in the region to continue.
The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran that began in late February forced Trump to postpone his initial plan to travel to China from late March.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, U.S.-China relations have been refocused on what matters most, rebuilding the safety, security and prosperity of Americans,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a press briefing, adding he will advance these goals “with a clear-eyed view of the economic and security realities of today.”
Kelly said the United States and China will aim for additional commercial deals related to aerospace, agriculture and energy, without elaborating.
The summit will begin Thursday morning, following a welcome ceremony. The two leaders, who last met in October in South Korea, will tour the Temple of Heaven together in the afternoon before attending a state banquet, according to Kelly.
She said Trump will then have a tea and working lunch with Xi on Friday before leaving the Chinese capital.
With Trump eager to highlight economic deals as his approval ratings continue to slide, a separate senior U.S. official hinted that China will likely agree to increase its purchases of American farm and other products.
The official confirmed that Trump will be joined by executives of major American companies.
The U.S. officials’ remarks indicated that the Trump administration wants to step up discussions on the idea of the world’s two largest economies establishing a “Board of Trade” and a “Board of Investment.”
The envisaged trade framework aims to define priority non-sensitive goods for import and export, while the other initiative would create a venue for discussing delicate investment issues as they arise.
On the safety of artificial intelligence, the administration is also seeking to create a new mechanism with Beijing amid fierce competition between U.S. and Chinese companies.
“What that looks like is yet to be determined,” said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “But we want to take this opportunity with the leaders’ meeting to open up a conversation and to see if we should establish a channel of communication on AI matters.”
As part of last-minute preparations for Trump’s discussions with Xi, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced earlier in the day that he will hold talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Seoul on Wednesday.
Bessent and He, both close to their respective presidents, have led their governments in bilateral negotiations since last year.
