US President Donald Trump will make an official visit to China from May 13 to 15 at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced. It will be the first visit to China by a sitting US president in nearly nine years.
The trip comes against a fraught global backdrop, including the prolonged US-Israel-Iran conflict, a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that has worsened the energy crisis, and rising tensions between Washington and Beijing on several fronts such as Taiwan.
U.S. principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said Trump is due to arrive in Beijing Wednesday evening for what she called a “visit of tremendous symbolic significance.” The planned itinerary includes a welcome ceremony and a bilateral meeting with Xi on Thursday, a visit to the Temple of Heaven, and a state banquet. The leaders are scheduled to meet again on Friday for a bilateral tea and a working lunch. The White House said it plans to host Xi for a reciprocal visit later this year.
Ahead of the trip, both sides arranged final trade negotiations: Vice-Premier He Lifeng will travel to South Korea to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on May 12 and 13 in the last round of talks before Trump’s visit. Chinese commerce ministry officials said the negotiations will be “guided by the important consensus” reached by the two leaders in Busan and in subsequent calls, and will address economic and trade issues of mutual concern.
There are expectations in both capitals that the meetings could help narrow differences over tariffs and other trade disputes, even as broader strategic tensions and regional security crises add complexity to the visit.
