BEIJING: US President Donald Trump told Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday that the two superpowers would have a “fantastic future together” as both leaders met for talks in Beijing.
“It’s an honor to be with you. It’s an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.” Trump said at the meeting in the Great Hall of the People, adding that the two nations were going to “have a fantastic future together”.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for the highly anticipated meeting.
“It’s an honor to be with you, it’s an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.” – President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/WZkoGeVqhv
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 14, 2026
The Chinese foreign ministry said US President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping discussed the war in the Middle East, the Ukraine conflict, and issues on the Korean Peninsula when they met in Beijing on Thursday.
“The two heads of state exchanged views on major international and regional issues, including the situation in the Middle East, the Ukraine crisis, and the Korean Peninsula,” according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout.
Trump had arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend”, as he predicted that their countries would have “a fantastic future together”.
Trump’s trip to Beijing is the first by a US president in nearly a decade, with the grand reception belying a host of unresolved trade and geopolitical tensions between the two countries.
Xi greeted Trump with a red-carpet welcome at the opulent Great Hall of the People, with military band fanfare, a gun salute, and a host of schoolchildren jumping and chanting “welcome!”.
Seemingly enjoying the ceremony, Trump said: “The relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before”.
Xi instead referenced an ancient Greek political theory about the risks of war when a rising power rivals a ruling power.
“Can China and the United States transcend the so-called ‘Thucydides Trap’ and forge a new paradigm for major-power relations?” Xi asked, adding that “cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both”.
The two leaders met after Trump arrived in a motorcade to the steps, where a US delegation, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and business CEOs, including Elon Musk, awaited him.
There was warmth from the get-go, with Trump telling Xi, “we’re going to have a fantastic future together,” and the Chinese leader telling his American counterpart that he was “happy” for the visit.
President Trump stands with President Xi Jinping on the steps of the Great Hall of the People at the conclusion of the official arrival ceremony
🎥: @MargoMartin47 pic.twitter.com/YX4mvlA4zC
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 14, 2026
The trip to Beijing is the first by a US president in nearly a decade, with the grand reception belying a host of unresolved trade and geopolitical tensions between the two countries.
Xi questioned if China and the US could build cooperation rather than head for confrontation, as he underlined that “a stable China-US relationship is a boon for the world.
“Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both,” Xi said.
There has been plenty of the latter since Trump’s last visit in 2017, with the two countries having spent much of 2025 embroiled in a dizzying trade war and at odds on many major global issues.
BREAKING: President Trump receives a warm welcome at the Great Hall of People in Beijing for his meeting with President Xi Jinping. pic.twitter.com/8pbodyQxpW
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 14, 2026
A new addition to that list, the Iran war, threatens to weaken Trump’s position in the talks, having already forced him to postpone his trip from March.
The US president said he expected a “long talk” with Xi about Iran, which sells most of its US-sanctioned oil to China, but insisted that “I don’t think we need any help with Iran” from Beijing.
Trade and tariffs
Top of Trump’s wish list for the summit will be business deals on agriculture, aircraft, and other topics.
Elite businessmen in the US leader’s delegation, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Tesla’s Elon Musk, were on the stairs of the Great Hall of the People on Thursday for the welcome ceremony.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that he expects 2026 to be a “historic, landmark year” that opens up a new chapter in China-U.S. relations. #XiTrumpMeeting https://t.co/K959GTIku7 pic.twitter.com/rAYhTWKzmD
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) May 14, 2026
Musk told reporters afterwards the meeting had been “wonderful”, while Huang said the two presidents “were incredible”.
Xi later told the delegation that his country’s “doors to the outside world will open wider and wider” and that US companies would enjoy “even brighter prospects in China”.
On the eve of the summit, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met in South Korea to seek progress in ending a long-simmering trade war between the two.
Xi said the talks “reached results that were generally balanced and positive”, and urged both sides to “safeguard the current hard-won positive momentum”.
Aboard Air Force One en route to Beijing, Trump vowed on social media to push Xi to “open up” China to US firms, so that these brilliant people can work their magic”.
The long-simmering trade war between the two countries will also be top of the agenda, after Trump’s sweeping tariffs last year triggered tit-for-tat levies that exceeded 100 percent.
Trump and Xi will also discuss extending a one-year tariff truce, which the two leaders reached during their last meeting in South Korea in October, although a deal is far from certain.
China’s controls on rare earth exports and AI rivalry are among other topics expected to be taken up by the two heads of state.
Trump will be treated to a state banquet in the evening with Xi, and will also visit the historic Temple of Heaven, a World Heritage site where China’s emperors once prayed for a good harvest.
Both sides will be looking to come out of the summit with whatever wins they can, while also stabilising an often tense bilateral relationship that has global implications.
Trump will also be hoping to leave with a firm date for a reciprocal visit by Xi to the United States later in 2026, to prove his rapport with his Chinese counterpart.
