The national flags of the United States and China hang in front of a statue of late communist leader Mao Zedong at the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing on May 15, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images
BEIJING – US President Donald Trump’s much-anticipated visit this week has gone a long way toward bolstering a fragile trade deal with Beijing and stabilizing bilateral ties.
While the visit was delayed for more than a month because of the Iran war, Trump’s two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up Friday with plans for another meeting this fall.
Here’s what has changed since the leaders met:
US-China geopolitical alignment
Xi’s warning to Trump that mishandling Taiwan would put US-China relations in “grave danger,” according to official English-language media, made headlines early in the talks.
Oil prices rose again after Trump told Fox News in a previously taped interview that China had agreed to buy US oil and would help in the Iran talks. He did not say when the purchases would begin or in what capacity.
China has not confirmed plans to buy US oil, and Washington has not said anything about Taiwan.
“I think each side has delivered. There is no substantive discussion on Taiwan, however, which is not surprising,” said Yue Su, chief economist, China, at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “Further talks on Iran have highlighted that they are in agreement. The fact that both sides want to describe the meeting as a win shows interest, at least.”
“There are limits to what China can realistically do, as the Iranian regime is operating in a survival mode and will put its own interests and agenda above everything else,” he said.
Hold a trade deal
The US and Chinese sides have not yet released details on specific agreements. But Trump’s invitation to Xi to visit the US on September 24 means the two leaders could speak in person again before the one-year trade deal expires in October 2025.
The deal lowered tariffs and rolled back restrictions on rare earths after tensions between the two countries escalated in early 2025.
Xi said the US and China agreed to constructive “strategic stability” as a framework for the next three years, according to state media.
“Strategically, Beijing seems to be trying to turn Trump’s willingness to stabilize relations into a long-term working framework for US-China relations,” said Jack Lee, an analyst at China Macro Group, noting that this framework could be the basis of cooperation with Beijing for the next US president.
It wins business
Trump told Fox News that China would order 200 Boeing planes, which he said was more than the 150 units the company had expected. But that was less than half of the 500 flights many had originally expected.
Nvidia and has reportedly received the green light from the US to sell its H200 chips to major Chinese companies, sending tech stocks higher.
Both Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang accompanied Trump to Beijing. More than a dozen American executives and business leaders — including Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla’s Elon Musk — participated in a meeting Thursday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
The opening remarks and reading provided no details other than China’s promise to open its market to foreign business, which has been happening gradually in recent decades.
The American business delegation was much smaller than the more than 30 leaders who joined Trump on his trip to Saudi Arabia last year.
“I don’t think the intention was to have all the CEOs sign the agreement,” said Gary Dvorchak, managing director of the Blueshirt Group. “I think the goal was to flex America’s muscles and just show from an economic perspective what a power we are.”
“It also shows a high level of cooperation in the US government and the private sector,” he said.
