Trump, Xi begin summit in first U.S. presidential trip to Beijing in nearly a decade
U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping represent their countries’ national anthems during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images
BEIJING — U.S. President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday morning for the start of a high-stakes summit that will last through Friday.
In addition to customs duties and rare earth elements, Iran, Taiwan and artificial intelligence are among the many issues the two sides are expected to discuss. The last time a sitting US president visited China was 2017.
On Thursday, Xi descended the steps of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to shake hands with Trump, official broadcast footage showed. The US president first shook hands with Chinese officials, and then Xi greeted the US delegation.
In the images, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and the head of the economic planning department Zheng Shanjie were among the Chinese representatives.
In addition to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US contingent included company executives such as Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
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