US President Donald Trump is set to visit Beijing this week, from May 13th to 15th, for a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This visit marks the first by a US president to China in nearly a decade and occurs at a critical juncture for the world’s two largest economies, testing a fragile trade truce amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions.
A Fragile Truce Under Scrutiny
The upcoming summit is expected to include executives from major American corporations such as Boeing, Citigroup, and Qualcomm, who may seek to finalize deals with Chinese counterparts. However, the primary focus will be the delicate trade relationship between the US and China.
The trade war, which escalated significantly in April 2025 following Trump’s imposition of sweeping global import taxes, saw both nations implement retaliatory tariffs that exceeded 100%. This economic conflict was temporarily suspended after a meeting between Trump and Xi in South Korea in October, but threats and friction have persisted.
Roots of the Trade Conflict
Donald Trump’s presidency began with a promise to rebalance international trade and revitalize American manufacturing. His administration initiated the trade war in 2018 by imposing tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports, a move that many analysts pinpoint as the conflict’s starting point.
Tariffs were also levied against other trading partners, including Mexico, Canada, and European nations, which Trump accused of exploiting the US. These broad measures surprised China, which was heavily reliant on trade with America at the time.
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