Trump travels to Beijing for high-stakes talks with Xi Jinping amid trade, Taiwan, and Iran tensions

Donald Trump departed for Beijing on May 12, 2026, for a two-day summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, seeking to maintain a tentative trade truce while addressing tensions over Iran, Taiwan, and global supply chains. The US president is scheduled to land in the Chinese capital Wednesday evening. His itinerary includes a tour of the Temple of Heaven, a state dinner on Thursday night, and tea between the two leaders on Friday before he departs, according to reports.

Tech executives accompanying Trump include outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Meta president Dina Powell McCormick, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, according to a White House official.

The two leaders' last meeting in October paused a flurry of tit-for-tat trade tariffs in 2025. In February 2025, Trump imposed 20% tariffs on China over fentanyl; China responded with tariffs of 15% on US coal and LNG and 10% on oil and agricultural machines.

Trump said Washington's longstanding support for Taiwan's defense would be on his agenda for the Beijing summit. "President Xi would like us not to, and I'll have that discussion," he told reporters. "That's one of the many things I'll be talking about."

The Iran conflict could serve as a potential source of tension during talks. Trump has sought China's help to convince Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the Iran war. China hosted Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi a week before Trump's visit. Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was "on life support" after dismissing Tehran's peace proposal as "totally unacceptable." "I would call it the weakest, right now, after reading that piece of garbage they sent us – I didn't even finish reading it," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says: 'Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living.'"

US inflation jumped to 3.8% in April, the highest since 2023, driven by energy prices up 3.8% and gas prices up 28.4%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pentagon CFO Jules Hurst III said the cost of the Iran war has risen to "closer" to $29bn due to repair and replacement of equipment and general operational costs. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US has a plan to "escalate if necessary" regarding Iran and that the ceasefire "remains in effect." Representative Betty McCollum asked Hegseth to provide a plan for a potential drawdown of troops by June 11.

The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh to a 14-year term as Federal Reserve governor in a 49-44 vote; a cloture vote for his Fed chair nomination is expected soon.