Trump Lands in China for High-Stakes Trade Summit as Iran Looms

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(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for the first state visit to China by a US leader in nine years, as the world’s two largest economies look to stabilize ties with a summit playing out against the backdrop of the Iran war.

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Air Force One touched down at the Beijing Capital International Airport slightly before 8 p.m. on Wednesday, where Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, a military honor guard, and hundreds of flag-waving children readied a red-carpet greeting ceremony for the US president.

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The real action kicks off the next morning, with Trump meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People. 

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His host enters the summit emboldened, after the pair’s meeting last year in South Korea saw Beijing use its rare earths reserves to pressure Trump to roll back threatened tariffs. Since then, the US Supreme Court has restricted the president’s avenues for imposing additional levies, while the Iran war has sapped Trump’s domestic political standing.

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But Trump and other administration officials indicated ahead of his arrival that he still intended to use the meeting as a chance to push the Chinese leader on uncomfortable topics, from Beijing’s role in the unresolved Middle East conflict to rolling back trade barriers for US businesses.

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“I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to ‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level!” Trump said in a social media post detailing corporate executives accompanying him on the trip. “In fact, I promise, that when we are together, which will be in a matter of hours, I will make that my very first request.”

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The 36-hour summit — which includes a state banquet, a visit to the Temple of Heaven, and a tea chat in the Zhongnanhai leadership compound — was delayed for weeks as Trump has struggled to bring the Iran conflict to a conclusion. 

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In recent days, Trump has expressed frustration with Tehran’s proposals to wind down its nuclear program as part of a peace deal, suggesting Iran had failed to offer significant enough concessions and that a fragile ceasefire agreement currently in place could end.

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Before departing for the trip, the US leader sought to downplay the Iran war on the summit agenda, saying he would prioritize trade negotiations with Xi instead. 

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But China buys most of Iran’s oil exports, providing the Islamic Republic with a critical economic lifeline to sustain its war efforts, and holds unique geopolitical sway that Trump could be eager to leverage. The conflict has added fresh strains on US-China ties, with the Trump administration recently sanctioning multiple Chinese firms for purchasing Iranian oil or providing satellite imagery to the Islamic Republic.