President Donald Trump is meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping for a multi-day summit, during which Trump said he’d seek to deepen diplomatic and economic ties between the world’s two largest economic powers.
Ahead of the visit, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News that the U.S. will urge China to take a more assertive role in resolving the U.S.’s war with Iran during Trump’s meeting with Xi.
“It’s in their interest to resolve this. We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf,” Rubio said during an interview taped on Air Force One Tuesday while Rubio and Trump were on their way to Beijing.
President Donald Trump takes part in a welcome ceremony with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 14, 2026.
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“We’ve made clear to them, you know, that any support for Iran would obviously be detrimental for our relationship. That obviously is going to come up in this conversation,” Rubio said.
Trump’s Thursday itinerary includes a welcome ceremony, a bilateral meeting with Xi at the Great Hall of the People, and a state banquet that night, according to the White House.
“We have a lot of things to discuss,” Trump said on Tuesday as he departed the White House, where he fielded questions about what would be on the table during the high-stakes summit. The summit begins as the effects of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran continue to ripple around the globe and the U.S. economy remains a pressing issue at home.
President Donald Trump reviews an honor guard with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China.
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The president was asked whether the pair would discuss diplomatic ways to end the war with Iran, which is in its third month. China is a key buyer of Iranian oil, which could give it considerable diplomatic leverage over Tehran, experts told ABC News. Trump said the U.S. had Iran “very much under control,” adding that it would be among the topics discussed.
President Donald Trump shakes hands during a welcome ceremony, May 13, 2026, at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
“We’re either going to make a deal or they’re going to be decimated, one way or the other. We win,” Trump said. “We’re going to be talking about, we’re going to be talking with President Xi.”
Chinese youth hold American and Chinese flags as they join officials to welcome U.S. President Donald Trump at Beijing Capital International Airport, May 13, 2026 in Beijing, China.
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Trump said on social media on Tuesday that he planned to ask Xi to “open up” the Chinese economy. The U.S. delegation includes Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. CEOs Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Tim Cook of Apple and Jensen Huang of NVIDIA as well as the president’s son Eric Trump and daughter-in-law Lara Trump were also present.
Asked to respond on Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said that the scheduled diplomatic meetings were expected to play “an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-U.S. relations.”
President Donald Trump is escorted by China’s Vice President Han Zheng (R) upon his arrival at Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing on May 13, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
“During the visit, the two heads of state will have an in-depth exchange of views on major issues concerning China-U.S. relations and world peace and development,” Guo added, according to a transcript published by the ministry. “China stands ready to work with the U.S. to expand cooperation and manage differences in the spirit of equality, respect and mutual benefit, and provide more stability and certainty for a transforming and volatile world.”
