President Donald Trump will travel to Beijing on May 14 and 15 for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, after the long-planned trip was delayed by the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Xi will also make a reciprocal visit to Washington at a date to be announced later this year.
“I look very much forward to spending time with President Xi in what will be, I am sure, a Monumental Event,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.
A War That Moved Goalposts
Trump was originally scheduled to arrive in Beijing on March 31. That trip was shelved after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, killing the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran retaliated against Israel and U.S.-allied Gulf states and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz — the critical chokepoint for global oil and LNG shipments — triggering a worldwide fuel crisis.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Wednesday that Trump and Xi had spoken directly about the delay, and that Xi “understood that it’s very important for the president to be here throughout these combat operations right now.”
What The May Dates Mean
Whether the Iran war wraps up in time for the summit is an open question, and the White House isn’t quite saying. When pressed on Wednesday on whether mid-May implied the war would be winding down, Leavitt offered: “We’ve always estimated approximately four to six weeks. So you could do the math on that.”
On Polygon-based (CRYPTO: POL) Polymarket, prediction market traders are betting on a 60% chance that there will be a ceasefire in Iran before Trump visits Xi. About $42,000 has been placed on the best as of early Thursday.
Goodwill Deals Likely, Hard Bargains Less So
The summit will be the first face-to-face between Trump and Xi since their October APEC meeting in South Korea, where the two sides agreed on a trade truce. That truce now looks fragile. A February Supreme Court ruling curtailed Trump’s power to impose tariffs, stripping him of a key negotiating lever with America’s third-largest trading partner. He has since relied on a stopgap 10% across-the-board levy under a different legal authority.
Both sides are expected to reach goodwill agreements on agriculture and aircraft parts. Little is promised on harder issues like export controls, rare earths, and a proposed bilateral trade enforcement mechanism.
Taiwan will also reportedly be on the agenda. Trump has significantly expanded U.S. arms sales to the island during his second term, angering Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory.
The Hormuz Problem Beijing Won’t Touch
The Iran war has also put China in a difficult position heading into the summit. China imported roughly 12 million barrels of oil per day in the first two months of 2026 — the most in the world — making the Strait of Hormuz closure a direct economic threat to Beijing.
Trump has specifically asked China to help pressure Tehran into reopening the waterway. Beijing has not responded directly, and that request is likely to hang over the visit.
Image via Shutterstock
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