Trump’s ‘Learning Curve’ on China Ends With Conciliation at Summit

In 2024, Donald J. Trump said China was “killing us as a country.” Last year, he complained that President Xi Jinping of China was “very tough, and extremely hard to make a deal with.” His tariffs on China reached 145 percent at one point. The whiplash that followed culminated in the pageantry in Beijing this week. As Air Force One took off from the Chinese capital on Friday, it remained unclear what deals, if any, President Trump had clinched with Mr. Xi. But the two-day summit in Beijing underscored how…

Trump and Xi’s Different Approaches at the Summit

new video loaded: Trump and Xi’s Different Approaches at the Summit <img src="https://www.chinastrategy.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/trump-and-xis-different-approaches-at-the-summit.png" data-testid="betamax-poster" sizes="(width After President Trump’s meeting in Beijing with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, our reporter David Sanger examines the differences in their body language and style. By David E. Sanger, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, Nikolay Nikolov and Jiwoong Hong May 15, 2026 NYT

Spotlight on China Adds to Some Chinese Americans’ Fears

For Chinese Americans, the news this week might have seemed disorienting. There was the largely make-nice tone of the summit in Beijing between President Trump and the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, which ended on Friday. But in the days leading up to the summit, two criminal cases in the United States reflected how the countries’ competitive and often tense geopolitical relationship has made life more difficult for many people of Chinese origin living in the United States. On Monday, federal prosecutors announced that Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, a…

Xi Pitches His Vision for Avoiding Conflict With the U.S.

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has spent the last year standing up to President Trump. He met triple-digit tariff with triple-digit tariff and restricted rare earth exports, forcing the Trump administration to back down. Both sides suffered, and so did the global economy. But having made his point, and established China as America’s peer, Mr. Xi is now pivoting from retaliation to conciliation. At a summit in Beijing this week that he billed as historic, Mr. Xi offered Washington a choice: Accept China as an equal power with red lines that…

Trump-Xi Summit Ends With No Major Breakthroughs

new video loaded: Trump-Xi Summit Ends With No Major Breakthroughs transcript Back transcript Trump-Xi Summit Ends With No Major Breakthroughs China’s leader, Xi Jinping, gave President Trump a tour of secretive Beijing compound toward the end of their two-day summit. “Nice, nice place.” “I love that. That’s great.” “We made some fantastic trade deals, great for both countries. We did discuss Iran. We feel very similar on Iran. We want that to end.” <img src="https://www.chinastrategy.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/trump-xi-summit-ends-with-no-major-breakthroughs.jpg" data-testid="betamax-poster" sizes="(width < 1024px) 100vw, (width China’s leader, Xi Jinping, gave President Trump a tour…

Trump’s and Xi’s Body Language at the Summit Mirrored Their Styles

They shook hands. They took a long walk. One man touched the other’s arm, then he did it again. They later shook hands some more. For two leaders at odds on many fronts — Taiwan, trade, rare earth resources, among others — Thursday’s meeting between President Trump and Xi Jinping, China’s leader, suggested they wanted the rivalry to be more friendly than not. The body language stood in stark contrast to Mr. Trump’s harsh criticism of China at home, and to many of his meetings with longtime U.S. allies. The…

What People in China Say of Trump

Even for everyday people in China, President Trump’s influence looms large. A steel trader in the southern city of Fuzhou said his business had been depressed by the trade war. A taxi driver in northern China complained that the increase in global gas prices amid the war in Iran meant he had to pay more at the pump. At a shopping mall in Beijing, Sunny Sun, a woman who was invested in stocks, said she was watching her portfolio, wary of the impact of announcements from the president’s summit with…

Trump Invites Xi to White House During State Dinner in Beijing

President Trump invited China’s leader, Xi Jinping, to Washington during a state dinner in Beijing on Thursday, as the two leaders emphasized their cooperation against the ornate backdrop of the Great Hall of the People. The two walked into the hall side by side to applause and sat next to each other at a table decorated with greenery, a small lake with swans and miniature Chinese-style buildings. A translator facilitated interactions. The guests, at elaborate place settings amid the hall’s tall red pillars with gold detailing, included Elon Musk of…

Trump and Xi Meet as Summit Begins

new video loaded: Trump and Xi Meet as Summit Begins transcript Back transcript Trump and Xi Meet as Summit Begins President Trump shook hands with President Xi Jinping of China at the start of a two-day summit in Beijing on Thursday. They are expected to discuss trade, Iran and Taiwan. “You and I have known each other now for a long time. We’ve had a fantastic relationship. We’ve gotten along. When there were difficulties, we worked it out.” <img src="https://www.chinastrategy.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/trump-and-xi-meet-as-summit-begins.jpg" data-testid="betamax-poster" sizes="(width < 1024px) 100vw, (width President Trump shook hands…

As Trump and Xi Meet in China, American and Chinese People Are Drifting Apart

During his 2005 presidential visit to China, George W. Bush, an enthusiastic mountain biker, cycled with members of the country’s national team. When China’s current leader, Xi Jinping, toured the United States in 2015, he received a football jersey from high schoolers in Tacoma, Wash., and promised to encourage more tourism between the countries. There seem to be few such displays of bilateral bonhomie in store for this week’s summit between Mr. Xi and President Trump in Beijing. That reflects a grim reality of U.S.-China relations: As geopolitical and economic…