BEIJING: US President Donald Trump is expected to press President Xi Jinping over China’s approach to Iran and hammer out details on a new board of trade when they meet this week in Beijing, senior US officials say.
Trump and Xi are scheduled for talks on Thursday and Friday in Beijing as they wrestle with strong disagreements over trade and the US-Israeli war with Iran, which counts China as its biggest oil buyer and a key diplomatic backer.
In final preparations for the first US presidential trip to China in nearly a decade, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng for last-minute talks in Seoul tomorrow, both sides confirmed.
Revenue that China provides to Iran as well as potential weapons exports would be among the topics discussed at the summit, one of the US officials told reporters on a conference call, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive preparations for the summit.
The Iran war – now in its third month – has added fresh tensions between the world’s two largest economies as they seek to stabilise ties and maintain a delicate trade truce.
The United States has sanctioned multiple Chinese firms for purchasing Iranian oil or providing satellite imagery to the Islamic Republic, as the Trump administration comes under increasing pressure to end a conflict that has triggered a historic energy crisis.
Taiwan is also expected to be on the agenda, but no changes in United States policy toward the self-governing island are expected, one of the US officials said.
Beijing has warned the United States about arms sales to Taiwan, which it considers its own territory, and has asked the Trump administration to officially declare that it “opposes” Taiwan independence.
A senior Taiwanese official expressed concern last month that Taiwan would be put “on the menu” of the talks between Trump and Xi.
US concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) and a potential new channel of communication with China on that issue would also be discussed, the two US officials said on Sunday.
Anthropic PBC’s latest large language model Mythos has underscored the risks AI poses to cybersecurity, prompting regulators in the United States, United Kingdom and Asia to step up scrutiny of the security of their financial systems.
Xi’s government hasn’t officially commented on Mythos, but it has long taken a hardline approach toward threats on national security.
Xi and Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, discussed AI during their meetings in 2023 and 2024, including a pledge that neither of their nations would turn over control of nuclear weapons to AI programmes.
Trump, who considers himself a deal-maker, will likely want to announce planned purchases by Beijing of US goods as well.
“President Trump will continue doing what he has done over the past year: rebalancing the relationship with China and prioritising reciprocity and fairness to restore American economic independence,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told reporters at the beginning of the call.
“The American people can expect the president to deliver more good deals on behalf of our country.”
Kelly said the two sides would continue to work on proposals to establish a board of trade, which would govern exchanges between the two countries of non-sensitive goods, and a board of investment. Agreements on agriculture, aerospace and energy would also be discussed.
One of the senior US officials said the two sides would continue discussions on Chinese purchases in those sectors and that announcements could come during or shortly after Trump’s visit. There are no current plans to create a major new Chinese investment program.
Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst at Eurasia Group and a former US diplomat, said Bessent’s meeting with He “sounds like a last-minute deliverable”, presumably related to the board of trade or investment.
“It is a positive signal and suggests there may be a surprise upside in terms of outcomes. I can’t see why they would need one final tete-a-tete unless they are close to delivering something more substantial than most folks expect.” — Bloomberg
