Trump-Xi Summit: Trump to ask Xi to 'open up' China

President Donald Trump told reporters earlier this week that he was going to discuss US arms sales to Taiwan with President Xi.

"I’m going to have that discussion with President Xi," Trump said. But the words alarmed Taiwan over fears regarding the extent of Washington's support to the self-governing island which China claims.

While the US is required by law to ensure Taiwan's ability to defend itself, it officially recognizes that Taiwan is part of China. The policy is intended to be vague—built on what's become known as strategic ambiguity. 

But Xi Jinping is expected to try to press Trump to shift US rhetoric closer to Beijing's position in a bid to isolate Taiwan, and while Trump is eager to persuade China to use its leverage over Iran.

At the same time, Taiwan has become essential for the development of artificial intelligence technology since it's the world's leading chipmaker. 

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng started talks in South Korea on Wednesday, paving the way for the much-anticipated summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

Trump becomes the first US leader in nearly a decade to visit China, after his 2017 visit during his first term in office. The summit offers leaders of both countries a chance to reset ties and find common ground on a range of issues.

Experts said the preparatory talks between Bessent and He were meant to lay the groundwork for the summit rather than seeking breakthroughs. Bessent then travels to China later today.

China's ​lead trade negotiator, Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang, and Vice Finance Minister Liao Min were among the officials accompanying He.  

Just days before a high-stakes Trump–Xi summit, Beijing is rewriting the rules of global business — punishing companies that move away from China, blocking major Western tech deals, and turning the screws on Europe to pick a side.

Zhang Han, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said Taiwan is an ‌internal issue and a matter for the Chinese people.

"We firmly oppose the United States engaging in any form of military ties with China's Taiwan region and firmly oppose the United States selling weapons to China's Taiwan region. This position is consistent and ‌unequivocal," she said during a weekly briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.

In December, the Trump administration announced an $11 billion (€9.4 billion) weapons package for Taiwan, the largest ever.

Taiwan is the "core of China's core interests" and honoring the commitments made ‌by successive US administrations are "international obligations that the US side is duty-bound to fulfil", Zhang added.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out using force to exert its control.

China and the United States remain deeply intertwined economically despite years of tariff disputes and efforts at decoupling. While US–China trade has declined sharply — with Chinese exports to the US dropping 20% — Beijing has offset losses by expanding trade with Africa, Europe, and Latin America, contributing to a record global surplus.

Both sides still rely on each other: The US depends on China for rare earth elements and as an export market, while China seeks access to advanced American technologies like semiconductors.

Ahead of Donald Trump's visit to Beijing, both governments aim to stabilize relations and avoid further tariff escalation, especially as global economic pressures mount due to the conflict in Iran. Analysts describe the meeting as a "risk‑management summit," with China potentially positioned as a mediator in the Middle East to help secure vital trade routes such as the Strait of Hormuz.

After postponing his trip in March — having just recently launched the war with Iran — US President Donald Trump is set to visit China's leader Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of the week.

The meeting comes as the world faces an ongoing energy crisis due to the Strait of Hormuz blockadeand peace negotiations between Tehran and Washington seem to be deadlocked. Meanwhile, entrenched trade disputes between China and the US still lurk from behind the scenes.

Against this backdrop, both countries have an incentive to ensure the meeting between the two leaders comes off as a success. Neither Trump nor Xi are ready to lose face. Both want to remain the "strong man."

DW looks at the topics due to be on the two leaders' agenda, and the prospects of the highly anticipated talks.

A coterie of aides, family members and business leaders are accompanying President Trump on his trip to Beijing. 

These leaders include: 

• Nvidia's Jensen Huang 
• Apple's Tim Cook
• Tesla and SpaceX's Elon Musk
• Kelly Ortberg from Boeing
• Brian Sikes from Cargill
• Citi's Jane Fraser 
• H. Lawrence Culp, GE Aerospace
• David Solomon, Goldman Sachs
• Micron's Sanjay Mehrotra 
• Meta's President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick

During his flight to China, Trump said his first request of China's President Xi Jinping would be to "open up" China to US business. 

"I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to 'open up' China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People's Republic to an even higher level!" Trump posted on his Truth Social from Air Force One. 

The "brilliant people" referred to by Trump are US business leaders accompanying him on the trip.

President Donald Trump has departed the United States for China, where he is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday for his highly anticipated summit with President Xi Jinping.

The meeting between the two world leaders comes at a critical moment for the world amid the war with Iran, spiking energy prices, trade and artificial intelligence.

"We're the two superpowers," Trump told reporters as he departed the White House on Tuesday. "We're the strongest nation on Earth in terms of military. China's considered second."