{"id":70409,"date":"2026-05-14T03:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T03:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/70409\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T03:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T03:51:11","slug":"trump-offers-platitudes-while-xi-warns-of-coming-confrontation-during-china-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/70409\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump offers platitudes while Xi warns of coming confrontation during China summit"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEIJING \u2013 President Donald Trump<\/a> began his trip to Beijing on Thursday by telling Xi Jinping \u201cit\u2019s an honor to be your friend,\u201d even as his Chinese counterpart offered a cautionary warning about avoiding a possible clash between the two nations. <\/p>\n

The stark contrast in tone underscored just how far apart the leaders remain on thorny issues including the war in Iran, trade disputes and Washington\u2019s relationship with Taiwan \u2014 and suggested that Trump and Xi\u2019s highly anticipated meetings are likely to be longer on pageantry and symbolism<\/a> than major breakthroughs.<\/p>\n

In brief remarks before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People moved behind closed doors, Trump was full of optimistic platitudes, saying of Xi, \u201cYou\u2019re a great leader. Sometimes people don\u2019t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to be with you. It\u2019s an honor to be your friend,\u201d Trump said before promising that \u201cthe relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.\u201d <\/p>\n

Xi was darker, expressing hope that the U.S. and China can avoid conflict while saying that history, and the world were asking \u201cwhether the two countries can transcend the \u2018Thucydides Trap\u2019 and forge a new model for relations between major powers.\u201d <\/p>\n

China’s leader used a term popular in foreign policy studies, referring to the idea that when a rising power threatens to displace<\/a> an established power, the result is often war. <\/p>\n

\u201cCooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both,\u201d Xi said. \u201cThe two countries should be partners rather than rivals, achieve success together and pursue common prosperity, and chart a correct path for major-country relations in the new era.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comments follow elaborate welcome ceremony<\/p>\n

Those remarks followed a sweeping greeting for Trump outside the Great Hall of the People, an imposing building on Tiananmen Square that houses China\u2019s legislature. Cannons boomed a welcome salute and a band played the Star-Spangled Banner and China’s national anthem. <\/p>\n

Tiananmen Square was cleared for the ceremony with only officials and press present, as well as military personnel who paraded in after Trump arrived. The hall featured giant, red-carpeted steps and huge expanses of marble, where soldiers hung large American and Chinese flags.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of primary school children wearing bright colors offered a welcome routine, jumping up and down as the girls waved flowers and the boys hoisted American and Chinese flags as the two leaders walked past them.<\/p>\n

Later, the Republican U.S. president visits the Temple of Heaven, a religious complex dating to the 15th century that symbolizes the relationship between heaven and earth. Trump and Xi will also attend a state banquet.<\/p>\n

The White House has insisted that Trump wouldn’t be making the trip without an eye toward securing results before he leaves \u2014 suggesting there could be announcements coming on trade<\/a>, including a Chinese commitment to buy U.S. soybeans, beef and aircraft. Trump administration officials also want to work toward establishing a Board of Trade with China to address commercial differences between the countries.<\/p>\n

But neither side has yet offered concrete details on what might come out of the three-day visit at a time when Beijing’s close economic ties to Iran<\/a> could complicate matters. <\/p>\n

Economic questions still loom <\/p>\n

The president’s Beijing swing comes as Iran continues to dominate<\/a> his domestic agenda and stoke fears about the prospect of a weakening U.S. economy<\/a> as the election season ahead of November’s midterms<\/a> \u2014 when Republicans will be looking to maintain control of Congress<\/a> \u2014 begins heating up. <\/p>\n

The U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, stranding oil and natural gas tankers and causing energy prices to spike, threatening global economic growth. <\/p>\n

Spending so much time with Xi will afford ample time for potentially tricky discussions. Those include Iran and trade, but also Taiwan and a possible three-way nuclear arms deal featuring Washington, Beijing and Russia.<\/p>\n

Progress beyond pleasantries might prove elusive.<\/p>\n

Back in Washington, the politics of the war got more complicated. Senate Republicans again blocked Democratic legislation to halt hostilities in Iran \u2014 but Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski<\/a> bucked her party, becoming the third Republican in the chamber to vote against continuing the war.<\/p>\n

China is the largest purchaser of Iranian oil<\/a>, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in in an interview with Fox News\u2019 Sean Hannity that Trump will make the case for Beijing to exert its influence on Iran, noting that administration officials will underscore that \u201ceconomies are melting down because of this crisis\u201d which means consumers are \u201cbuying less Chinese product.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s in their interest to resolve this,\u201d Rubio said of Chinese officials. \u201cWe hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they\u2019re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf.\u201d<\/p>\n

That contradicted Trump, who has downplayed suggestions that he will press Xi to do more to pressure Iran to open the strait. The president also says pressure on the U.S. economy won’t compromise U.S. demands as he negotiates with Iran in the midst of a fragile ceasefire<\/a>. Asked as he left the White House if the financial stability of ordinary Americans factors into Iranian negotiations, Trump responded, \u201cNot even a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think about Americans\u2019 financial situation. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,\u201d Trump said, before going on to suggest that \u201cevery American understands\u201d such a position. <\/p>\n

Mixed messaging was also evident on inflation and the war, however, as Vice President JD Vance denied Trump’s own words that the U.S. economy wasn’t a major factor in seeking a resolution with Tehran. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the president said that,\u201d Vance said after being asked about Trump’s comments. \u201cI think that\u2019s a misrepresentation of what the president said.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trade and Taiwan discussions also could be intense<\/p>\n

Looming large is the status of Taiwan, given that China is displeased with U.S. plans to sell weapons to the self-governing island that the Chinese government claims as part of its territory.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has approved an $11 billion weapons package<\/a> for Taiwan, but has yet to begin fulfilling it. Trump has also demonstrated greater ambivalence toward Taiwan<\/a> \u2014 an approach that\u2019s raising questions about whether he might be open to dialing back support for the island democracy.<\/p>\n

Taiwan is the world\u2019s leading chipmaker, producing components essential to the development of artificial intelligence. Trump has sought to bolster trade deals with Taiwan that can stimulate chip production in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Trump personally called Nvidia’s Jensen Huang<\/a> to invite him to hop on Air Force One during a refueling stop in Alaska on the way to Beijing \u2014 one of a large group of CEOs<\/a> from the tech, defense, finance and agriculture sectors who are part of the delegation. Other officials on the visit include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as Trump’s son Eric and Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law.<\/p>\n

Also in China is Elon Musk, the SpaceX chief who once led Trump’s effort to slash federal jobs<\/a> and cut back the size of government. <\/p>\n

The U.S. and China reached a trade truce<\/a> last year that calmed each side\u2019s threats to impose steep tariffs on the other. The White House says there have been ongoing discussions and mutual interest in extending the agreement, though it is unclear whether any such announcement could come during Trump\u2019s visit. <\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim and Darlene Superville in Washington, and Simina Mistreanu in Bangkok, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BEIJING \u2013 President Donald Trump began his trip to Beijing on Thursday by telling Xi Jinping \u201cit\u2019s an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70410,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[474,12,202,81,168,574,40673,6326,186,18,51,3580,74,1194,52,8970],"class_list":{"0":"post-70409","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eric-trump","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-elon-musk","11":"tag-eric-trump","12":"tag-jd-vance","13":"tag-jensen-huang","14":"tag-jim-lewis","15":"tag-lara-trump","16":"tag-marco-rubio","17":"tag-pete-hegseth","18":"tag-politics","19":"tag-scott-bessent","20":"tag-trump","21":"tag-washington-news","22":"tag-world-news","23":"tag-xi-jinping"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116570900833708014","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}