This photo is of the last sitting US president to visit China. President Donald Trump traveled to Beijing in November 2017 for his first time to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Pool | Getty Images
BEIJING – The war in Iran is likely to play a major role in the summit between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping, leaving little room to address issues such as tariffs and global warming.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already said that Iran will be the subject of the meetings, which must take place on May 14 and 15. And earlier this week, China arrested Iran’s foreign minister for the first time since the war began in late February – raising hopes for a peace deal, sending oil prices lower and fueling stock market gains.
The US government has rejected China’s invitation to organize industry-specific meetings between top Chinese leaders and senior US officials, thinking it would make US businesses appear too close to Beijing, according to a US official with direct knowledge of the arrangements. As of Tuesday, the White House had to officially invite the administration to join Trump on the trip, and the proposed list of a dozen leaders could be narrowed, the person said.
Boeing again Citigroup The CEOs are among those who will side with Trump, two separate sources said. The US aerospace giant is expected to close its first major order from China in nearly a decade around the summit.
Xi has hosted a dozen world leaders this year, from the UK to South Korea – who often bring large business delegations. However, companies may not be opposed to less concentration if it solves a larger geopolitical overhang.
An end to the Iran war would be “a big relief for global business,” said Hai Zhao, director of international political studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government-affiliated think tank. “It will be remembered as a great success” in the Trump-Xi summit.
However, the US and Iran have also traded fire in the Strait of Hormuz, each accusing the other of launching the attack. A few days earlier, another Chinese-owned oil tanker was hit, according to Chinese media outlet Caixin. CNBC could not independently verify the report.
If a small group of officials join Trump’s visit to China, it will be different from the president’s trip to Saudi Arabia last May, when more than 30 US officials accompanied him. When Trump visited China during his first term in 2017, the last US president to do so, nearly 30 CEOs accompanied him – signing 37 major deals worth more than $250 billion.
But the expected photos of Trump and Xi together may send a signal inside China that it is also acceptable to do business with American businesses, said Michael Hart, president of the Beijing-based American Chamber of Commerce in China.
“Since the US military earlier this year, Chinese officials have been hesitant to communicate with American businessmen,” he said.
China welcomes the expansion of American business and hopes that the companies can continue to advance the bilateral economic relationship, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told CNBC. China’s commerce ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, the urgency of other business-related issues is decreasing. Both countries are backtracking on recent confrontations over sanctions and American technology, while looking to cooperate on the growing security threat of AI, according to reports.
And some progress may be made. Trump is expected to make deals for Chinese purchases of US soybeans and Boeing aircraft, according to Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and chairman of the trustee on China business and economics at the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
He also expects that Trump will discuss US plans to establish trade and investment organizations – called “boards” – to address specific bilateral issues.
“The meeting will likely reinforce the gains China made last year,” Kennedy said.
Beijing will focus more on costs, the situation in Taiwan and US restrictions on Chinese access to advanced technology, Kennedy said. China became the first major country to retaliate against the tariffs announced by the Trump administration in April 2025.
Meanwhile, changes to China’s increasingly tight export control of rare earths will be felt around the world, and affect all countries, not just the US.
– CNBC’s Matthew Chin contributed to this report.
