Published On 5/13/2026
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Last update: 18:24 (Mecca time)
US President Donald Trump arrived today, Wednesday, in the Chinese capital, Beijing, where he will meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to discuss many files, in his second visit after his visit during his first term in 2017.
The Chinese “Xinhua” agency reported that Trump’s visit to Beijing will last three days, and he will be accompanied by a large delegation that includes representatives of political institutions and major American companies.
Trump will be accompanied on the visit by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, US Trade Representative Jamison Greer, and White House Advisor Stephen Miller. US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent, who concluded a round of talks in the South Korean capital Seoul today, will also join Trump.
Economic file
In an indication of Trump’s focus on trade and business in his visit, he was joined on the presidential plane when it stopped in Alaska by Jensen Huang, president of NVIDIA. He was also accompanied on the trip by Elon Musk, president of Tesla and SpaceX, Tim Cook, president of Apple, and a number of CEOs and representatives of 17 American companies.
Before his arrival, Trump pledged to ask his Chinese counterpart to “open” his country to foreign companies.
Washington and Beijing are seeking to untangle the economic dilemmas that worsened during Trump’s second term, as disputes escalated over customs duties and technical restrictions, and were offset by Chinese moves to control rare earth exports.
Despite this tension, intense negotiating rounds in various global capitals resulted in reaching a temporary framework of understanding, which included a mutual suspension of customs duties with the aim of containing the escalation and protecting global supply chains.
China anticipated Trump’s arrival, announcing its welcome, and Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiaqun confirmed during a press briefing that “China is ready to work with the United States… in order to expand cooperation and deal with differences.”
The first day of Trump’s visit is scheduled to be devoted to rest, while an official reception ceremony will be held for him tomorrow, Thursday, before he holds bilateral and expanded meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Iran war
Trump’s visit comes at a time when the repercussions of the war that broke out following the American-Israeli attacks on Iran, and the subsequent Iranian responses that led to a widespread escalation in the Middle East, continue.
It is expected that developments in the war on Iran will top the agenda of meetings between the two sides, especially with regard to navigation and energy security in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important corridors for global energy trade.
Upon leaving the White House, Trump said that he would hold “lengthy talks” with Xi regarding Iran, which sells the bulk of its oil to China despite the US sanctions imposed on it.
However, he stressed that “there is no need for any assistance for Iran” from China, pointing out that China did not raise “problems” regarding the blockade imposed by Washington on Iranian ports in response to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz (the vital sea lane) since the outbreak of the war in late February.
