BEIJING: US President Donald Trump departed Beijing on Friday following a major summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which the two leaders discussed trade, artificial intelligence, and war in the Middle East.
Trump left aboard Air Force One from Beijing Capital International Airport at around 2:40 pm local time (0640 GMT), heading back to Washington.
.@POTUS bids farewell to Chinese officials at Beijing Capital Airport as he concludes his historic state visit to China pic.twitter.com/siMCWwbJPe
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 15, 2026
Before his departure, Trump said he had made “fantastic trade deals” with Xi during the final talks of the summit and claimed China had offered support for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.
“We’ve made some fantastic trade deals, great for both countries,” Trump said after walking with Xi among the rosebushes in the gardens of Zhongnanhai, the Chinese leadership compound located beside Beijing’s Forbidden City.
“We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to solve,” he added, without giving further details.
.@POTUS gives his signature fist pump and one final wave as he boards Air Force One following his historic state visit to China https://t.co/sWRnNmzLZM pic.twitter.com/HGXravRpMA
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 15, 2026
Xi described the visit as a “milestone visit” and said the two countries had established “a new bilateral relationship, which is a relationship of constructive strategic stability”.
He also promised to send Trump seeds for the White House Rose Garden.
Trump had arrived in Beijing seeking agreements in agriculture, aviation and artificial intelligence, while also attempting to manage tensions over several major geopolitical disputes, particularly the Middle East conflict.
Trump, who has described Xi as a “great leader” and “friend”, said in an interview with Fox News that the Chinese leader assured him Beijing would not provide military assistance to Iran.
“He said he’s not going to give military equipment… he said that strongly,” Trump said, adding that Xi would “like to see the Hormuz Strait open” for the transport of oil and other critical goods.
Trump also responded to Xi’s remarks about the “Thucydides Trap” — a theory suggesting conflict becomes more likely when a rising power challenges an established global power.
Xi said the United States and China could “transcend” such dangers.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Xi had “very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation.”
Trump said Xi was referring to the period under former President Joe Biden rather than his own administration, which he claimed was overseeing an “incredible rise”.
“Two years ago, we were, in fact, a Nation in decline,” Trump wrote. “Now, the United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before!”
Trump also said Xi had “congratulated me on so many tremendous successes.”
During his Fox interview, Trump indicated that China had agreed to purchase “200 big” Boeing aircraft, though shares in Boeing later fell as investors appeared to expect a larger agreement.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the two countries were also discussing “guardrails” for the use of artificial intelligence.
Bessent said the world’s “two AI superpowers are going to start talking”, although US export controls on advanced technology remain a key source of friction between Washington and Beijing.
The summit also focused heavily on the Middle East war, which has seen Tehran close the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy flows and affecting Chinese oil supplies.
In a brief statement, the White House said both leaders had “agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy”.
Trump’s visit marked the first trip to Beijing by a sitting American president in nearly a decade.
