President Donald Trump said he would urge China’s Xi Jinping to “open up” to U.S. business during his trip to a summit in Beijing on Wednesday. He also added Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to a group of executives travelling with him, following a stop in Alaska en route.
As Trump prepared for the pomp-filled occasion, his top trade negotiator Scott Bessent held talks with Chinese officials in South Korea aimed at maintaining a fragile trade deal between the world's top two economies struck last year.
The CEOs accompanying Trump are drawn mainly from companies seeking to resolve business issues with China, such as Nvidia, which has struggled to get regulatory permission to sell its powerful H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips there.
"I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to 'open up' China so that these brilliant people can work their magic," he said in post on Truth Social.
Trump asked Huang at the last minute to join the trip, said a source familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity, and he had not figured on an initial list of travelling executives provided by the White House this week.
Huang was spotted boarding Air Force One during a refuelling halt in Alaska, with Trump due to arrive in Beijing late on Wednesday ahead of meetings with Xi that will include a banquet and a tour of UNESCO heritage site Temple of Heaven.
Apart from trade, the talks will cover a host of sensitive subjects from the Iran war to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by China.
Trump is widely expected to encourage China to convince Tehran to make a deal with Washington to end the conflict, though he has said he did not think he would need its help.
As Trump rubbed shoulders with Huang and Elon Musk aboard Air Force One, Bessent embarked on his latest round of trade negotiations with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at a reception room at South Korea's Incheon airport.
Both sides are eager to maintain a truce struck last October in which Trump suspended triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods and Xi backed away from choking global supplies of rare earths.
They are also expected to agree to forums to support mutual trade and investment, while Washington is eager to sell Boeing airplanes, American agriculture and energy to China to reduce a trade deficit that has irked Trump, U.S. officials have said.
Beijing wants the U.S. to ease curbs on exports of chipmaking equipment and advanced semiconductors.
But Trump enters the talks with a significantly weakened hand say analysts. Courts have hemmed in his ability to levy tariffs on Chinese and other international exports at will.
Trump has vowed to build back those tariffs using remaining legal authorities.
Though the Chinese economy has faltered, Xi does not face comparable economic or political pressure.
"Given last year's trade war, keeping the status quo, rather than escalating, is already good news," said Liu Qian, founder and CEO of Wusawa Advisory, a geopolitical and business advisory firm, based in Beijing.
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Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 1 June, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Donald Trump said he is “in no hurry” to reach a deal with Iran, insisting the U.S. is slowly getting what it wants. He warned military action remains an option if talks fail. Meanwhile, U.S. forces said they fired a missile at a vessel trying to breach Washington’s blockade of Iran.
Okinawa lost transport links and suffered widespread power outages on Monday (1 June) as Severe Tropical Storm Jangmi brought destructive winds and heavy rain to Japan's south-western islands.
Competing narratives continue to shape perceptions of the war in Ukraine, with Russian leadership suggesting a possible end phase while Ukrainian officials warn of renewed large-scale attacks and ongoing escalation risks.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has held talks with Lebanese President and Israeli Prime Minister on efforts to ease tensions between Israel and Lebanon. According to a U.S. official, Washington has proposed a plan aimed at achieving a gradual de-escalation of hostilities.
When Armenians vote on 7 June, they will be voting in an election shaped by months of political change and a rapidly deepening relationship with the European Union. The result may not only determine who governs Armenia but also the future direction of the country's geopolitical alignment.
Unsealed records from the U.S. Department of Justice have renewed scrutiny of lawyer Robert Amsterdam after documents revealed communications between his law firm and Jeffrey Epstein's office. The disclosures have drawn attention because of Amsterdam's prominent role in Armenia.
British police are facing a national backlash over their handling of the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak, who was handcuffed while dying from stab wounds after his attacker falsely claimed to be the victim of a racist assault.
China is sending doctors, medical teams and emergency supplies to help combat a growing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, joining an international effort to contain the disease before it spreads further.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said they struck a cargo ship owned by the “American-Zionist enemy” with a cruise missile after an Iranian freighter was attacked in the Sea of Oman.
Dutch police have launched an investigation into the use of force against a pregnant woman at an asylum seekers' centre in Zeist after videos of the incident circulated widely on social media.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Monday that his government would begin legal proceedings to remove President Tamás Sulyok if he continues to reject calls to resign.
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