It’s not every day the American president touches down in Beijing, so when Donald Trump flew into China this week, the world sat up and took notice.
The visit marks a significant moment in what has been, to put it mildly, a turbulent stretch of US-China relations. Trade wars, tariff threats, and pointed rhetoric have dominated headlines for months. So why the sudden face-to-face with President Xi Jinping?
BBC correspondent Laura Bicker, who has covered Asia for years and knows the region’s political theatre better than most, broke down what’s likely on the table. At the top of the agenda: trade. The two countries have been locked in a bitter economic standoff, with tariffs reaching as high as 145% on some American imports into China. Both economies have felt the strain, and neither side can afford to let that drag on indefinitely.
But it’s not just about dollars and cents. Taiwan remains the ever-present tension in the room, as does the question of Chinese support for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. Washington has been pressing Beijing on both fronts for months, with limited success through diplomatic back-channels.
“What happens in that room could shape global markets, alliances, and conflicts for years to come,” Bicker noted, underlining just how much is riding on these conversations.
Trump, for his part, has never been one for quiet diplomacy. His first term saw him weaponise tariffs like no president before him, and this second stint has followed a similarly combative pattern. Yet here he is, sitting across from Xi, which tells you something. When even the most combative dealmaker in American politics decides it’s time to talk, the pressure behind closed doors must be considerable.
There’s also the small matter of a global economy that’s been jittery since the tariff escalations began earlier this year. Markets in London, Tokyo, and Frankfurt have all wobbled in response to US-China friction, meaning the rest of the world has a very direct stake in how politely these two men get on.
Whether Trump walks away with a genuine deal or simply a photo opportunity dressed up as diplomacy remains to be seen. But with so many threads hanging loose, the real question might be: can either side actually afford to walk away empty-handed?
