The White House had said the summit will be held May 14-15. Beijing officially announced the date of Donald Trump’s state visit this week, publicly green-lighting the first US presidential trip to China in nearly a decade despite tensions over the Iran war. Trump, who last visited China in 2017, will meet Xi Jinping in a much-anticipated summit that’s already been rescheduled once due to the war.
The summit was originally planned for late March. The Iran war derailed it. When it finally happens today and tomorrow, Iran will be the dominant agenda item — not trade, not Taiwan, not technology restrictions. The war that reshaped the entire US-China relationship is the first item on the agenda of the meeting meant to reset it.
What the Summit’s Structure Looks Like
During Trump’s trip to China, the United States will focus on the economy and Iran, while China will seek stability and progress on Taiwan. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already said Iran will be a topic in the meetings, which are due to take place May 14 and 15. And earlier this week, China hosted Iran’s foreign minister for the first time since the war began in late February — raising hopes for a peace deal, sending oil prices lower and fueling stock-market gains.
The formal structure: bilateral meeting Thursday morning, a tour of historic sites, state banquet. The informal structure: every conversation shaped by the question of whether China will use its leverage over Iran to help close the MOU.
What China Has Already Done
The recent Beijing visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shows China positioning itself as having already weighed in with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
China’s pre-summit positioning is deliberate. By hosting Araghchi the week before Trump arrived and publicly calling for a “comprehensive ceasefire,” Beijing created a diplomatic narrative in which it has already pressed Iran — meaning that at the summit, Xi can tell Trump: we have already acted, we already delivered the message. Whether that message was delivered with sufficient force to change Iran’s negotiating position is the question Trump needs answered.
What Trump Is Seeking
Trump will meet with Xi amid record-low voter popularity and as gas prices spike due to the Iran war. The Trump administration wants to show that it has brought fairness and reciprocity to the economic relationship.
This will include securing Chinese commitments for significant purchases of US goods and services, with a particular emphasis on purchases that will ripple through the economy in key US sectors, including agriculture, by the November midterm elections.
The president will be seeking PRC support for his efforts to secure an acceptable agreement from Iran to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Two asks, one summit: Chinese support on Iran, and Chinese purchase commitments that Trump can sell as a trade victory ahead of the midterms. Both are achievable in principle. Whether Xi delivers both, one, or neither is what the next 48 hours will determine.
