13 May 2026
WATCH: 3 key issues to watch out for before Trump’s China visit
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to discuss a range of topics, with three issues likely to be discussed.
Business: Tariffs are expected to be a major part of the agenda as the US and China restarted a trade war after Trump singled out China during his global tariff attack last year.
The highest tariffs were withdrawn after China threatened to cut off rare earths, and a summit in October reached tentative agreements on trade.
Both sides would like to build on progress, with Trump saying he wants China to buy more American goods,
taiwan: Self-ruled Taiwan is a red line for Beijing. US policy is that it “does not support” Taiwan independence. But China may see an opening with Trump in pressuring the US to actively “resist.”
Beijing is also angry over US arms sales to Taiwan and Trump had said before leaving that this would be part of his talks with Xi.
artificial intelligence: Trump and Xi are sure to discuss AI, as it remains a key area of competition between the US and China.
China wants access to the most advanced chips used to develop and deploy frontier AI models, which are currently produced by US chip giant Nvidia. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is part of Trump’s trade team in Beijing.
The Trump administration has allowed the sale of some less advanced Nvidia technology to China to cut profits. An agreement on greater Chinese access to American technology would be beneficial to Beijing.