- Trump’s trip to Beijing is scheduled for May 14-15, according to the White House.
- Xi understood the reason for the delay, Trump’s spokesperson said.
- Trump hopes his visit to China will be “a monumental event.”
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in May in his first visit to China in eight years, a trip closely watched and postponed due to the ongoing war in Iran.
Trump’s efforts to reschedule the trip reflect the Republican president’s desire to project confidence in a difficult war in the Middle East and simultaneously manage a strained relationship between the world’s largest economies.
Originally scheduled for next week, Trump will now visit Beijing on May 14 and 15, he said in a Truth Social article on Wednesday. Trump added that he would welcome Xi for a reciprocal visit to Washington later this year.
“Our representatives are finalizing preparations for these historic visits,” Trump said. “I really look forward to spending time with President Xi in what I am sure will be a monumental event.”
The Chinese embassy said it had no information to provide about the visit announcement. Beijing normally does not detail Xi’s agenda more than a few days in advance.
This long-planned trip – and Washington’s broader efforts to repair relations in the Asia-Pacific region – have been repeatedly overtaken by events.
In February, the Supreme Court reduced the U.S. president’s power to impose tariffs, a source of leverage for Trump in negotiations with the United States’ third-largest trading partner. Later that month, Trump’s joint military operation with Israel against Iran introduced a new point of tension with Beijing, Tehran’s main oil buyer.
Trump’s last trip to China, in 2017, was the most recent by a U.S. president. Trump’s May visit will be the first in-person talks between the leaders since their October meeting in South Korea, where they agreed to a trade truce.
White House says Xi understands reasons for Trump’s delay
The two-day trip is expected to combine the lavish pomp that has become a hallmark of Trump’s foreign trips with hard-nosed diplomacy.
While the two sides could strike goodwill deals in Beijing on trade in agricultural products and aircraft parts, they are also expected to discuss areas of deep tension, such as Taiwan, where little progress is expected.
Trump significantly increased U.S. arms sales to Taiwan during his second term. These measures have angered Beijing, which claims the democratically governed island as its own territory.
It is also not certain that the war with Iran, which has shaken the global economy, will be resolved by the Xi-Trump meeting.
Trump has sought support from the world’s top oil consumers, including China, to counter Iran’s efforts to close the Strait of Hormuz.
So far, Trump’s request for aid has been largely rejected. China, which imported about 12 million barrels of oil daily in the first two months of 2026, the most in the world, did not directly respond to his request.
Asked whether the war could end in time for the China trip, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that “we’ve always estimated about four to six weeks. So you can do the math on that.”
Leavitt also said that Trump and Xi talked about rescheduling the trip and that Xi understood the reasons.
“President Xi understood that it was very important that he be present here throughout these combat operations,” she said.
