Chinese residents have expectations and skepticism as President Trump meets with President Xi
Residents expressed skepticism that President Donald Trump would meet with Xi Jinping in China for talks on trade and world issues.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to descend on China for talks with the president, bringing with him more than a dozen American business leaders to discuss Sino-American relations, world peace and development.
Trump said he was in China for a “great gathering of the world’s greatest businessmen and women” and planned to petition President Xi Jinping.
In a post on Truth Social on May 12, President Trump said, “I will be asking President Xi, our extraordinary leader, to ‘open up’ China so that our brilliant people can work their magic and take the People’s Republic to even greater heights.”
President Trump arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport on Wednesday, May 13th. Live band music blared in the background as Chinese Vice President Han Zheng greeted President Trump and other executives on the trip.
Here’s what we know:
How long will President Trump stay in China?
According to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese president has invited President Trump to visit the country and he is scheduled to stay there from May 13 to May 15.
He was originally scheduled to go to China in April, but the trip was postponed due to the ongoing Iran war.
Who goes on a trip?
According to President Trump’s Truth, social posts from Tuesday, May 12th following his visit to China are as follows:
- Jensen Huang (NVIDIA)
- Elon Musk (SpaceX, X, Tesla)
- Tim Cook (Apple)
- Larry Fink (Blackrock)
- Stephen Schwartzman (Blackstone Inc.)
- Kelly Ortberg (Boeing)
- Brian Sykes (Cargill)
- Jane Fraser (City)
- Larry Culp (GE Aerospace)
- David Solomon (Goldman Sachs)
- Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron)
- Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm)
China-US relations have had their ups and downs in the past.
As one of America’s biggest economic competitors, China has worked closely with officials in Washington’s adversaries, Moscow and Tehran. In the United States, politicians have sought to reduce dependence on Chinese products since the coronavirus pandemic, and in 2025 President Trump and President Xi Jinping were engaged in a long trade war.
At a press conference in China on May 13, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun emphasized the importance of head-of-state diplomacy.
“I welcome President Trump’s visit to China as a state guest,” he said. “During the visit, the two leaders will hold in-depth exchanges on key issues related to China-US relations and world peace and development.”
He said China was “ready to work with the United States” to ensure the two countries cooperate and resolve their differences.
He said the goal was “to provide more stability and certainty in a changing and unstable world.”
Contributors: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Francesca Chambers, Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s Trends team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – 757. Please send your email to: sdmartin@usatoday.com.
