Why the Trump-Xi Summit Matters, Even if Little Seems to Come of It

President Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, are scheduled to meet in Beijing this week for a high-stakes summit that could shape the next stage of rivalry between the world’s two major powers. Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi are expected to discuss the war in Iran, trade, Taiwan and other points of contention during a two-day summit beginning on Thursday. Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi last met in October in South Korea, where they agreed to pause a bruising trade war in which the U.S. imposed triple-digit tariffs on Chinese…

China confirms dates for President Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing

US President Donald Trump will pay a state visit China from May 13 to 15, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, the foreign ministry in Beijing said on Monday. It will be the first visit to China by a US president in almost nine years and comes at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries over a range of issues. It also coincides with the fragile US-Iran ceasefire and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is pushing up energy costs and weighing on the global…

Trump’s China return: what’s changed since his ‘friendly’ 2017 visit

Nine years after his lavish first visit to China as US president, Donald Trump is scheduled to head back to Beijing on May 13-15. With tensions over tariffs, Taiwan and tech rivalry still simmering, the summit will test whether the world’s two biggest powers can stabilise their fractious relationship. What to expect Pragmatic deals over grand resets Don’t look for a historic breakthrough. The focus is expected to be on extending the trade truce, locking in fresh Chinese purchases of American goods, and keeping tensions from boiling over. Big-ticket items…

Trump, Tehran and a Qatari tanker transit: here’s what happened overnight

These are the major takeaways from what happened overnight. What did Trump say? Advertisement Tehran’s Tasnim news agency, citing an “informed source”, reported that Iran’s proposal included an immediate need to end the war and maritime blockade on Iran. Advertisement Iran also requested that sanctions be lifted by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control relating to Iranian oil sales over a 30-day period, according to Tasnim. South China Morning Post

Taiwan’s Cheng Li-wun on cross-strait peace, meeting Xi Jinping and managing ties with US

Cheng Li-wun is the chairwoman of Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT). In this far-ranging interview, she discusses her vision for peace and cooperation between Taiwan and mainland China, her meeting in April with Communist Party chief Xi Jinping and her coming trip to the United States in June. Cross-strait relations have been increasingly tense for more than 10 years. What approach can change this situation? As long as both sides of the strait accept the 1992 consensus and oppose Taiwan independence, we can essentially usher in an immediate…

Why the UAE’s Opec exit spells the beginning of the end of Gulf unity

On April 28, the United Arab Emirates informed the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) it was leaving. Three days’ notice. No call to Riyadh beforehand, apparently. The grievance about production quotas was years old: Abu Dhabi had threatened to quit in 2021. What’s changed has nothing to do with the barrel count. It is about who underwrites Abu Dhabi’s security when it acts on a decision Riyadh opposes. After Iran struck UAE infrastructure, Abu Dhabi sent only a foreign minister to the Gulf Cooperation Council’s emergency session. Instead, it…

China, US confirm Seoul trade talks days before Trump-Xi summit in Beijing

Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng will travel to South Korea this week for trade talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, both sides confirmed on Sunday, in the final round of negotiations before a summit between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Beijing. The meeting is scheduled for May 12 and 13 in Seoul and comes days before Trump’s state visit to China on May 14 and 15. China’s Ministry of Commerce said He would lead a delegation to hold economic and trade consultations with the US side.…

Could military AI use be on the agenda when Chinese and US leaders meet?

US President Donald Trump’s landmark visit to China comes as the US-Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, fuels economic uncertainty and adds fresh strain to Washington-Beijing ties. In the latest instalment of a series examining how rivalry, interdependence and geopolitical crises are reshaping the relationship between the two powers, Amber Wang looks at the prospects for joint progress on military use of AI. China and the United States are facing calls to discuss the safe military use of artificial intelligence when their two leaders meet later this week. The technology…