We should be partners, not adversaries, Xi said as the summit began.
Nine years after his last visit, Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on May 13th to meet Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, carrying with him the weight of a relationship that has grown more fractured with each passing year. The two leaders, flanked by cabinet officials and corporate titans, are attempting what both sides call a reset — a word that carries hope and skepticism in equal measure. Xi asked whether great powers can choose partnership over confrontation; Trump called Xi a great leader and the future bright. History will judge whether the choreography of this summit concealed or began to heal the deeper divergences beneath it.
- The agenda is crowded with fault lines: Taiwan arms sales, AI rivalry, trade controls, and Iran — any one of which could unravel the optimism expressed on the red carpet.
- Beijing issued a blunt warning before talks even began, declaring its resolve to oppose Taiwan independence 'as firm as a rock,' even as Trump signaled plans to discuss further arms sales with Xi.
- A delegation of America's most powerful corporate executives — Musk, Cook, Huang, Ortberg — arrived alongside cabinet members, signaling that commercial deal-making is as central to this visit as geopolitical negotiation.
- China's yuan has climbed to its strongest level against the dollar in over three years, a quiet but deliberate signal of Beijing's long-term push to reduce dependence on the dollar and internationalize its currency.
- Both leaders offered warm public language, but state media reminded the world that China will meet the U.S. halfway — and no further — on questions of sovereignty, security, and national interest.
Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on the evening of May 13th, nine years after his last visit to China as president. The welcome was elaborate — red carpet, flowers, flag-waving students — and by Thursday morning he was shaking hands with Xi Jinping outside the Great Hall of the People. Both leaders called it a reset. Both expressed optimism. The gap between that language and the underlying tensions is what the next three days will attempt to bridge.
Trump brought a formidable delegation: Secretary of State Rubio, Treasury Secretary Bessent, Defense Secretary Hegseth, and a roster of corporate executives including Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Jensen Huang, and Boeing's Kelly Ortberg. The White House has framed part of the visit as a commercial opening — Trump wants Xi to let American business 'work its magic,' with aircraft and agricultural deals potentially on the table.
The harder conversations involve Taiwan, trade controls, AI competition, and Iran. China's Taiwan Affairs Office set the tone before talks began, declaring its resolve to oppose independence 'unbreakable.' Trump, who approved an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan last year, has indicated he plans to raise further sales — a significant departure from decades of diplomatic convention.
In his opening remarks, Xi posed the defining question of the summit: can the United States and China build a partnership rather than remain locked in adversarial competition? He called it a question for history, for the world, and for the people. Trump called Xi a great leader and predicted the bilateral relationship would be better than ever.
Beyond the formal meetings, Trump is expected to visit the Temple of Heaven, a 600-year-old imperial complex closed to the public for the occasion. The symbolism is deliberate — both nations understand the power of historic imagery. Meanwhile, China's yuan has reached its strongest level against the dollar in more than three years, reflecting Beijing's quiet but strategic push toward currency internationalization and reduced dollar dependency.
State media captured the dual register of the moment. The People's Daily described the summit as a chance to recalibrate and expand cooperation. Xinhua added the harder edge: China will meet the U.S. halfway, but will not compromise on sovereignty, security, or core national interests. What the world is watching is whether two dominant powers can find stable footing — or whether the competition between them will only deepen.
Donald Trump stepped off Air Force One into a Beijing evening on Wednesday, May 13th, nine years after his last visit to China as president. The welcome was orchestrated with precision: a red carpet, a bouquet of flowers, coordinated flag-waving by students in light blue and white, and the full ceremonial apparatus of a state reception. By Thursday morning, he was shaking hands with Xi Jinping on the red carpet outside the Great Hall of the People, the two leaders of the world's dominant superpowers meeting to attempt what both sides are calling a reset.
The stakes are large and the agenda crowded. Trump brought with him a delegation of cabinet members—Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—and a roster of corporate executives: Elon Musk of Tesla, Tim Cook of Apple, Jensen Huang of NVIDIA, and Boeing's Kelly Ortberg. The White House has made clear that one goal of the visit is to unlock commercial opportunities for American business, with Trump saying he wants to ask Xi to "open up" China so these executives "can work their magic." There are expectations that deals for aircraft and agricultural exports could be sealed during the three-day stay.
But the real work lies in managing the fractures that have widened between Washington and Beijing over the past decade. The two countries will discuss trade and export controls, the ongoing war in Iran and whether China might play a role in de-escalation, the competition in artificial intelligence, and the question that Beijing considers non-negotiable: Taiwan. Before the meetings even began, China's Taiwan Affairs Office issued a stark statement: "Our resolve to oppose Taiwan independence is as firm as a rock, and our capability to crush Taiwan independence is unbreakable." The Trump administration approved an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan late last year, and Trump has indicated he plans to discuss additional sales with Xi—a move that breaks from decades of diplomatic practice.
In their opening remarks, Xi framed the summit as a moment for the two nations to define a new model of great power relations. He posed the question directly: can the United States and China establish a partnership rather than remain locked in confrontation? "These are questions of history, questions of the world, and questions of the people," he said. "They are also the answers that you and I, as leaders of major powers, must jointly write for our times." He warned that cooperation benefits both nations while conflict damages both. Trump, for his part, called Xi a "great leader" and said the relationship between the two countries "is going to be better than ever before." He expressed particular admiration for the children who greeted him at the airport, calling them "happy" and "beautiful."
The symbolism of the visit extends beyond the formal meetings. Trump is expected to tour the Temple of Heaven Park, a 600-year-old complex where Ming and Qing emperors once offered sacrifices and prayers for good harvests. The park was closed to the public on Wednesday and Thursday in preparation. Images of the two leaders at such a historic site would carry weight, signaling the importance both nations are placing on the relationship. As one former U.S. diplomat noted, Trump understands the power of visual narrative, and these kinds of visits matter symbolically.
Beneath the diplomatic choreography, deeper currents are moving. China's currency, the yuan, has reached its strongest level against the dollar in more than three years, trading at around 6.79 per dollar. This reflects a deliberate policy shift by Beijing to gradually strengthen the yuan and reduce China's dependence on the dollar for international trade—a long-standing strategic goal. Currency analysts note that Chinese policymakers are tolerating this appreciation as part of a broader push to internationalize the yuan. The Chinese stock market, meanwhile, opened mixed on Thursday morning, with the benchmark CSI 300 Index down about 1 percent, reflecting investor uncertainty about the divergence between China's push for technological dominance and weak domestic demand.
The People's Daily, the Communist Party's official newspaper, has been setting the tone for the visit. In a commentary published before Trump's arrival, it described the summit as a chance to "recalibrate goals and ways of interacting" and emphasized that the two countries can achieve mutual gains by expanding cooperation. Yet the same commentary warned that Taiwan remains "the most important and sensitive core issue" in the relationship. State news agency Xinhua added a harder edge: "China is willing to meet the U.S. halfway, but will absolutely not trade away its principles, and even less will it compromise in the slightest on major issues involving national sovereignty, security or development interests."
What emerges from the choreography and the rhetoric is a picture of two nations attempting to manage a relationship that contains both genuine areas of potential cooperation and fundamental strategic disagreements. The visit will be watched globally as a test of whether the world's two most powerful economies can find a stable footing, or whether the competition between them will continue to deepen.
Citas Notables
These are questions of history, questions of the world, and questions of the people. They are also the answers that you and I, as leaders of major powers, must jointly write for our times.— Xi Jinping
The relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.— Donald Trump
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does it matter that Trump is bringing all these corporate executives? Is this just about making deals?
It's partly about deals, yes—Boeing aircraft, farm exports, technology partnerships. But it's also a signal. By bringing Musk, Cook, Huang, he's saying to Xi: look, American business wants access to your market. It's a form of pressure dressed up as opportunity.
And what about the Taiwan question? Why is Beijing drawing such a hard line before they even sit down?
Because Taiwan is the one thing China will not negotiate on. Everything else—trade, investment, even military tensions—can be managed. But Taiwan is sovereignty. By stating their position so firmly before the talks, they're setting a boundary. They're saying: we can talk about many things, but not this.
The yuan is getting stronger. What does that mean for the average person?
It means China is trying to reduce how much the world relies on the dollar. If the yuan becomes a more trusted currency for international trade, China gains leverage. It's a slow shift, but it's deliberate. Over time, it could reshape global finance.
Trump called Xi a "great leader" and said the relationship will be better than ever. Does he actually believe that, or is it just diplomacy?
With Trump, it's often both. He genuinely seems to enjoy the pageantry and the personal relationship. But he's also using flattery as a negotiating tool. By praising Xi publicly, he creates space to ask for things—market access, help with Iran, concessions on Taiwan.
What's the real test of whether this visit succeeds?
Whether they can move from rhetoric to actual agreements on trade and Iran, and whether Trump can extract any meaningful concessions on Taiwan without Beijing feeling humiliated. If they leave the table with a framework for managing their differences, that's a win. If they just exchange pleasantries and go home, nothing changes.