US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping wrapped up the final day of their Beijing summit with the war in Iran increasingly taking center stage over the trade disputes and technology tensions that had originally been expected to dominate the meeting between the world’s two largest powers.
Meeting on May 15 at Zhongnanhai, the tightly guarded leadership compound of the Chinese Communist Party, the two leaders entered their final round of talks after a first day defined by public displays of goodwill and a growing convergence around the economic risks posed by the war in Iran.
"We did discuss Iran. We feel very similar about [how] we want it to end," Trump told reporters while sitting next to Xi. "We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon. We want the strait open," referring to shipping disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that normally carries roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies.
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Day One Of Trump-Xi Talks Covers Iran, Trade, And TaiwanWhile the summit covered a range of issues, the war in Iran has rapidly reshaped its agenda, transforming what was expected to center on trade and technology into a broader effort to manage the conflict's economic and geopolitical fallout. Washington is pressing Beijing to use its leverage press Tehran, while China is balancing its close ties with Iran against growing concerns over energy supplies and global growth.
China’s Foreign Ministry said on May 15 that Beijing supports continuing the fragile cease-fire around Iran and that it has been “working tirelessly” to help end the war while seeking to play a “constructive role” in future peace negotiations. The ministry also said that "maritime routes should be reopened as soon as possible,” an apparent reference to the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump poses for photos with China’s Xi Jinping during a visit to Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15.
The comments came after Trump said in a Fox News interview recorded in Beijing on May 14 that Xi offered to help broker a deal with Tehran, agreed that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons, and vowed to not provide the country with military equipment.
“Beijing agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open and that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon. Those rhetorical commitments cost China very little,” Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told RFE/RL. “The harder test is whether Beijing pressures Tehran, curbs Chinese purchases of Iranian oil, or helps Washington turn general language into observable outcomes.”
Iran War Reshapes The Summit
Trump has repeatedly insisted the United States does not need China’s help to resolve the conflict.
Before departing Washington earlier this week, he warned the cease-fire was on “massive life support" and in a Truth Social post early on May 15, Trump also hinted US military operations against Iran could resume, writing that the “military decimation of Iran” was “to be continued!”
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China Calls For 'Lasting Cease-Fire' In Middle EastBeijing, meanwhile, has carefully avoided directly criticizing Washington while portraying itself as a supporter of diplomacy and regional stability.
“[It is] in China's self-interest to see the situation calm down in the Middle East,” Dali Yang, a professor of Chinese politics at the University of Chicago, told RFE/RL. “So strategically, I'm pretty sure there is almost an agreement [on Iran], more or less, although clearly China did express opposition to the war.”
China remains Iran’s largest oil customer and one of Tehran’s closest economic partners, but it also has strong incentives to avoid a prolonged conflict that could further disrupt supply chains and weigh on global demand.
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How The War In Iran Is Shaping The Trump-Xi Summit
Speaking to NBC News on May 14, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump discussed the Strait of Hormuz directly with Xi during their talks.
“The Chinese side said they are not in favor of militarizing the Strait of Hormuz, and they’re not in favor of a tolling system, and that’s our position,” Rubio said.
Rubio also rejected suggestions that Washington was seeking Beijing’s assistance to end the conflict.
“He didn’t ask him for anything,” Rubio said of Trump. “We don’t need their help.”
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a Bloomberg TV interview on May 15 said that the United States believed China was being “very pragmatic” in respect to its involvement with Iran, and that he was confident Beijing would do whatever it could to limit material support for Tehran.
Goodwill, But Few Breakthroughs
The summit’s opening day was marked by carefully choreographed diplomacy and optimistic rhetoric from both leaders.
As Trump spoke to reporters on May 15, he said "a lot of good” came from his China visit and that he and Xi "settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to solve."
Trump also praised Xi as a “friend” during the May 14 meetings and later invited the Chinese leader to visit the White House on September 24. Chinese state media portrayed the summit as the beginning of what Xi called a “constructive strategic stable relationship” meant to guide ties between Washington and Beijing over the coming years.
US President Donald Trump inspects a guard of honour during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14.
But beyond the warm rhetoric, analysts say the summit has so far yielded limited tangible progress and underscored how deeply entrenched the rivalry between the two countries remains.
“Trump is getting modest movement he can market at home. Xi is laying the groundwork for the stability Beijing needs while preserving the leverage it has built,” Singleton said. “Both sides are trying to keep momentum alive without changing the underlying terms of the rivalry.”
During his Bloomberg interview, Greer said that Washington expects Beijing to purchase “double-digit billions” of dollars worth of US agricultural goods annually over the next three years.
Chinese authorities also renewed export licenses for hundreds of American beef producers after many permits expired last year amid escalating tariff disputes. Trump also told Fox News during his interview that Xi agreed to order 200 Boeing jets.
US President Donald Trump walks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15.
The two governments are additionally discussing a proposed $30 billion “Board of Trade” covering non-sensitive goods, Greer said.
Still unresolved are many of the issues driving long-term competition between Washington and Beijing, including export controls on advanced technology, rare earth mineral restrictions, and Taiwan.
Xi warned Trump during the first day of talks that Taiwan could become a flashpoint for direct confrontation if mishandled.
“The summit sets a stabilizing tone,” Keitan Zhang, an associate professor at George Mason University, told RFE/RL. “But what comes next, especially on difficult issues, will depend heavily on domestic politics in both countries and how conflicts like Iran and Ukraine evolve.”