US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping concluded more than two hours of high-stakes talks in Beijing on May 14, with both sides projecting optimism about stabilizing relations even as sharp disagreements over Taiwan, trade, and the war in Iran loomed over the summit.
The bilateral meeting, held in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, marked the first face-to-face talks between Trump and Xi since they met in South Korea in October 2025. Trump is expected to attend a state banquet in his honor in the evening following a cultural visit to Beijing's Temple of Heaven.
Xi used the opening of the summit to call for cooperation between the world's two largest economies, saying China and the United States should be "partners rather than opponents" despite their deepending competition and growing instability around the world. Trump called Xi a "friend" and said that "the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before."
Despite both men emphasizing their personal relationship and the need for closer cooperation, however, the talks underscored how fragile the relationship remains as the leaders navigate disputes over export controls, technology, Taiwan, and global fallout from the war in Iran.
The two leaders also "exchanged views on major international and regional issues such as the situation in the Middle East, the Ukraine crisis, and the Korean peninsula,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement after the meeting.
"Trump wants stability heading into the midterms and while the United States remains tied down by the Iran conflict," Daniel Russel, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told RFE/RL. "Beijing wants a stable external environment while managing economic pressures at home."
Against that backdrop, both Washington and Beijing appear more focused on managing tensions and preventing further escalation than on securing any sweeping diplomatic breakthrough.
"Despite any sweeping declarations, the long-term trajectory remains strategic rivalry," said Russel. "Most outcomes will be limited, transactional, and potentially reversible."
Taiwan Warnings And Early Trade Signals
Taiwan emerged as one of the clearest focal points during the talks. According to a readout published by the Chineese state news agency Xinhua, Xi warned Trump that mishandling the issue could push the two countries toward a direct confrontation.
"Handled well, the two countries can maintain stability," Xi said, according to the Chinese readout. "If handled poorly, the two countries will collide or even clash, putting the entire US-China relationship in an extremely dangerous situation."
China claims the self-governed island as part of its territory and has vowed to eventually bring it under Beijing's control, by force if necessary. Chinese officials have been pressing Washington to reduce military and political support for Taipei, particularly US arms sales to the island.
The Trump administration reportedly delayed notifying Congress about a planned $13 billion arms package for Taiwan ahead of the summit in order to avoid inflaming tensions with Beijing. During a phone call in February, Xi had urged Trump to handle the issue with "extreme caution."
"Xi Jinping would like some concessions on or some reassurances about Taiwan and what Trump would do in the event that China ramps up the pressure on the island," Yvonne Chiu, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told RFE/RL. "That also relates to a bigger goal for Beijing, which is pushing back the United States in the Indo-Pacific."
Trade and economic tensions also featured prominently in the talks, though early signs pointed to limited progress.
China approved export licenses for several hundred American slaughterhouses to resume beef shipments to China, according to updated data published by China's General Administration of Customs. The licenses had expired in March 2025 after Trump imposed an earlier round of tariffs on Chinese goods.
The move represents a modest goodwill gesture ahead of broader negotiations over tariffs, export controls, and supply chains.
Trump has publicly emphasized trade and investment ahead of the summit, while Beijing is seeking relief from US export controls on advanced technology and assurances against new tariffs. The US president was accompanied by several prominent business executives, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and Apple CEO Tim Cook, at the meeting with Xi.
Xi also told the delegation of US business executives that China will “open wider” to the world, although did not offer any formal committments.
“China’s doors to the outside world will open wider and wider," Xi was quoted by Chinese state media as saying during the summit. "American companies will enjoy even brighter prospects in China."
Rare earth minerals remain a central point of leverage for China in trade talks.
During their meeting in South Korea last year, Trump and Xi agreed to ease a rapidly escalating trade dispute after Beijing threatened broad restrictions on rare earth exports in response to steep US tariffs. China delayed the measures for one year, and extending that arrangement remains one of the key issues hanging over the summit.
The group of 17 minerals essential for products ranging from smartphones to fighter jets have become a major card for China to play in negotiations as competition intensifies over advanced technologies and global supply chains. China dominates much of the world's mining and processing capacity for the materials.
Iran War Adds Pressure To Talks
The war in Iran and the resulting disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have also cast a shadow over the Beijing meetings.
Trump is expected to press Xi to use China's close ties with Tehran to encourage Iran to accept a broader peace agreement and loosen restrictions affecting maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that normally carries about one-fifth of the world's oil supply.
Before departing Washington, however, Trump publicly downplayed suggestions that the United States needed Beijing's help to resolve the conflict.
"I don't think we need any help with Iran," Trump told reporters at the White House on May 12. "We'll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News while en route to China that the US had made its case to Beijing on why it should take a more “active role” in resolving the conflict in Iran.
"We've made the argument to the Chinese, and I hope it's compelling, and they'll have a chance to do something about it at the United Nations later this week," Rubio said.
China's relationship with Tehran gives Xi potential leverage at a moment when energy disruptions and rising fuel prices are weighing on the global economy and adding political pressure on the White House.
Beijing has maintained close economic ties with Iran throughout the conflict and remains one of the largest buyers of Iranian oil. In a sign that Beijing and Washington were searching for common ground, senior US and Chinese officials said that no country can be allowed to exact shipping tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a State Department statement issued before Trump left for the summit.
Tehran has demanded a right to collect tolls on shipping traffic as a precondition for ending the war. The United States has imposed a naval blockade on Iran, and Trump has floated the possibility of imposing its own fees on traffic or working with Iran to collect tolls.
"I'd expect there to be a lot of behind the scenes talk about Iran," said Chiu. "But I don't expect it to be public, partly because that brings some reputational risk for China in case those efforts fall short."
