Donald Trump has landed in Beijing for the first visit to China by a US president in nearly a decade, as he seeks to mend power and prestige weakened by the war in Iran. The US president was greeted by China’s vice-president, Han Zheng, and a military honour guard, before walking a red carpet flanked by 300 young Chinese waving red flags.
Trump is accompanied by his son Eric and daughter-in-law Lara, as well as tech leaders including Elon Musk of Tesla and Jensen Huang of Nvidia. The two-day summit is expected to cover trade, artificial intelligence, and Taiwan, with a sale of 500 Boeing 737 Max jets reportedly set to be announced. However, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East casts a long shadow over the talks.
Trump has downplayed the need for Chinese help with Iran, stating, “We’ll win it one way or the other – peacefully or otherwise.” Behind the scenes, US officials have urged Beijing to pressure Tehran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes. China has condemned recent US sanctions on Chinese firms as “illegal unilateral sanctions” and invoked a blocking statute.
Chinese officials have called for stability while avoiding overt alignment with Washington. Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted his Iranian counterpart in Beijing and defended Iran’s right to develop civilian nuclear energy. President Xi has implicitly criticised the US, saying international rule of law “must not be selectively applied”.
Neither side appears eager to let the Iran crisis derail broader engagement. The two countries remain locked in a fragile tariff truce, and White House officials said Trump’s delegation of over a dozen US business leaders signals a continued desire for economic cooperation. Trump’s trip will be closely watched in Taiwan for any sign of weakening US support, after he said he would discuss US arms sales to the island with Xi.
