SHANGHAI/TOKYO -- U.S. President Donald Trump made his first visit to China in nearly nine years, as the rival superpowers sought to stabilize their fraught relationship.
The American president arrived Wednesday evening and left on Friday. The visit included plenty of face time with Chinese President Xi Jinping, from formal bilateral talks to a state banquet, tea and lunch.
The leaders are understood to have discussed the Iran war, trade, tensions over Taiwan, and artificial intelligence. Trump brought an entourage of corporate executives including Tesla's Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook and Nvidia's Jensen Huang.
Further reading:
Trump touts 'fantastic trade deals,' Xi stresses 'strategic stability'
Xi warns Trump that handling Taiwan issue 'poorly' risks a 'clash'
Boeing faces long haul in China as Trump touts expected sale of 200 jets
China Inc.'s global growth curbs Trump tariff powers undercut by courts
Trump-Xi meeting keeps Taiwan on edge, eyeing subtle US shifts
The latest developments (Beijing time):
Friday, May 15
8:20 p.m. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says that she spoke with Trump by phone to discuss his visit to China, and that the president confirmed the "unwavering" U.S.-Japan alliance. Takaichi has been embroiled in a diplomatic dispute with China over comments she made last year about a potential Taiwan crisis.
Takaichi says that she and Trump spoke for about 15 minutes.
7:15 p.m. Trump has spoken to a press gaggle aboard Air Force One. He touches on his conversations with Xi about Taiwan, Iran, Boeing jets and other matters.
Here's the full video from the White House's YouTube channel.
5:05 p.m. "No major breakthroughs were expected and none were achieved" at the summit, says Stephen Olson, senior visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and a former U.S. trade negotiator. "But both countries got what they needed from this summit: a bit of additional stability."
He argues: "Trump approaches summits with Xi looking for 'deals' he can tout as 'wins.' Xi approaches these summits looking to reframe the relationship in ways that support the achievement of China's long-term objectives."
3:15 p.m. In a regular daily briefing, China's foreign ministry spokesperson offers few specifics.
"China-U.S. economic trade ties are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature," Guo Jiakun says. "Both sides need to act on the important common understandings reached between the two heads of state and inject greater stability into bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and the world economy."
He says the two sides reached "important understandings on maintaining economic and trade ties," and expanding cooperation in various areas.
On the case of Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned Hong Kong media tycoon and rights activist, he called him a "mastermind" behind the protests that shook the city back in 2019 and stressed that the matter is an internal affair. The Trump administration had signaled that it would press for the ailing 78-year-old's release.
2:50 p.m. A Reuters report offers details of a conversation between Trump and Xi in the garden of Zhongnanhai, picked up on a microphone.
"Let me tell you, all the trees on this side are over 200 to 300 years old," Xi said via a translator. "Over there, there are some more than 400 years old."
Trump replied, "They live that long?"
When Trump asked whether other foreign leaders visited the Communist Party's leadership compound, Xi told him, "Very rarely."
"At first, we usually didn't hold diplomatic events here. Even after we started having some, it's still extremely rare. For example, Putin has been here," Xi said.
2:41 p.m. It's wheels up for Air Force One on a hazy day in Beijing. Trump has left China. Now all eyes turn to what the two sides agreed upon.
2:23 p.m. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is on hand to bid Trump farewell. The U.S. president climbs the staircase to Air Force One, does a quick fist pump and wave, then disappears into the plane.
2:05 p.m. If the 200-jet order Trump touted for Boeing is confirmed, it would barely move the needle on the U.S. aircraft manufacturer's market share in China.
2:00 p.m. Live news footage shows a crowd building at the airport near Air Force One, ahead of Trump's departure from China. Students dressed in blue and white -- similar to the colors of Trump's plane -- are there to see him off.
1:05 p.m. Trump says "a lot of good" has come out of his trip to China, and that they have made "fantastic trade deals," the details of which remain unknown. In their second day of meetings , Xi echoes China's framing of U.S. ties as a "constructive relationship of strategic stability."
12:55 p.m. Coinciding with the summit, Anthropic has urged the U.S. and its allies to not let the Communist Party of China take the lead in the AI race, saying strict chip export controls are needed to keep democracies ahead of "authoritarian governments."
11:40 a.m. News photos from this morning show crowds of onlookers gathering to catch a glimpse of Trump's motorcade and snap photos.
11:00 a.m. Trump and Xi have met again at Zhongnanhai, the headquarters of the Communist Party leadership in Beijing.
10:55 a.m. China's foreign ministry says Trump and Xi have reached "a series of new consensuses." They committed, according to the ministry, on "properly handling each other's concerns and agreed to strengthen communication and coordination on international and regional issues."
In comments published on its website, the ministry also lays out China's position on the Iran war. "Shipping routes should be reopened as soon as possible, responding to the calls of the international community, and jointly maintaining the stability and smooth flow of global supply chains," according to an unnamed spokesperson.
"A comprehensive and lasting ceasefire should be reached as soon as possible to promote the early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East and the Gulf region, laying the foundation for building a sustainable regional security architecture."
9:30 a.m. Trump is scheduled to take a "friendship photo" with Xi later this morning, before the leaders sit down for tea and lunch. They will be aiming to firm up some concrete "deliverables" from the visit before the American president departs in the afternoon.
8:30 a.m. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. hopes for a "positive response" from China on the case of Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned 78-year-old Hong Kong media tycoon.
"The president always raises that case and a couple others, and obviously we'll hope to get a positive response from that," Rubio told NBC News in an interview broadcast Thursday in the U.S. "We'd be open to any arrangement that would work for them, as long as he's given his freedom," Rubio said.
Lai was convicted last year of colluding with foreign forces and publishing seditious materials through his now-defunct newspaper, Apple Daily. Lai denied the charges. Earlier this year, he was given a 20-year jail sentence , widely considered a life term considering his ailing health.
Before the summit, Trump said that Lai "caused lots of turmoil for China."
"He tried to do the right thing. He wasn't successful, went to jail, and people would like him out, and I'd like to see him get out too," the president said, vowing to raise the case.
8:00 a.m. Trump posts on Truth Social that he "fully agrees" with Xi that the U.S. used to be a fading nation, blaming that view on his predecessor, Joe Biden. "When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, and on that score, he was 100% correct," Trump writes, hours before meeting Xi again.
"President Xi was not referring to the incredible rise that the United States has displayed to the world during the 16 spectacular months of the Trump Administration," he adds, pointing to factors such as record-high stocks and the "military decimation of Iran (to be continued!)."
"Two years ago, we were, in fact, a Nation in decline. On that, I fully agree with President Xi! But now, the United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before!"
7:30 a.m. Boeing's shares dropped more than 4% in U.S. trading on Thursday, after Trump told Fox News that China would be buying 200 aircraft -- a smaller order than expected. The plane maker's CEO, Kelly Ortberg, is part of the U.S. delegation to China.
5:00 a.m. Xi gives his assurance that China will not provide weapons to Iran, Trump says.
"President Xi would like to see a deal made," Trump tells Fox News host Sean Hannity. "He would like to see a deal made. And he did offer, he said 'if I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help."
Xi also pledged cooperation on opening the Strait of Hormuz, according to Trump.
There was no immediate comment from the Chinese side.
Thursday, May 14
11:15 p.m. Shares in Nvidia are up 4% in New York trading after a Reuters report that the U.S. had approved sales of the powerful H200 chip to Chinese companies.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joined the entourage of American business leaders accompanying Trump to China.
The H200 is a high-end AI processor that is more advanced than the H20 chips Nvidia designed for the Chinese market in response to U.S. export restrictions.
Asked this month whether China should have the "latest and greatest chips," Huang replied, "No, " adding the U.S. should maintain a lead in artificial intelligence.
11:00 p.m. A U.S. State Department photo shows the American delegation in Beijing, including top business leaders. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook and Citigroup's Jane Fraser can be seen standing behind Trump.
8:50 p.m. Russia says it will be conducting its own diplomacy with China's president.
"We are expecting our own separate contacts with Xi Jinping," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says when asked if Beijing and Moscow would consult about the outcome of Trump's visit, according to Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit China soon.
8:30 p.m. In an taped interview with U.S. channel CNBC, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offers some tidbits about Chinese investment, AI, commercial deals and other matters.
On discussions about setting up a board of investment with Beijing, he says the purpose would be "to decide up front, what are the non-strategic, non-sensitive areas where it would be possible for the Chinese to invest," according to a transcript.
Regarding AI, he says the two sides will be discussing "guardrails."
"The Chinese are substantially behind us, but they have a very advanced AI industry here. So the two AI superpowers are going to start talking. We're going to set up a protocol in terms of, how do we go forward with best practices for AI to make sure non-state actors don't get ahold of these models."
The secretary says he expects to see "large" Boeing orders.
And on Taiwan, he offers assurance that Trump "understands the issues here and understands the sensitivities around all of this."
8:00 p.m. While Trump and Xi were talking and toasting in Beijing today, China continued to apply military pressure across Asia, according to a senior official in the region who spoke to Nikkei Asia on condition of anonymity.
The official said there were close to 90 Chinese defense and coast guard vessels detected from the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait to the South China Sea, describing this as a typical day of "gray zone" activity.
"Beijing's strategy is to push the narrative that 'we are for peace, we are not the troublemakers' during the summit, while continuing to flex its military muscles. Chinese air and maritime harassment against Taiwan has not stopped because of Trump's visit," the official said.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said in its daily update that it had spotted three sorties by Chinese military aircraft and six Chinese naval vessels in the 24 hours up to 6 a.m. Thursday.
Xi issued an explicit warning to Trump about Taiwan in their morning meeting.
6:40 p.m. In a banquet speech, Xi says that China's population of 1.4 billion draws on the heritage of 5,000 years of civilization, while 300 million Americans in the U.S. are marking the country's 250th anniversary this year. He refers to them both as "great peoples."
"The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand," Xi says.
Trump speaks next and says he is inviting Xi and his wife to visit the White House on Sept. 24.
"The American and Chinese people share much in common," Trump says. "We value hard work. We value courage and achievement, we love our families and we love our countries. Together we have the chance to draw these values to create a future of greater prosperity, cooperation and happiness and peace for our children."
6:20 p.m. Here's the place setting for Trump at tonight's banquet.
5:55 p.m. Trump is arriving back at the Great Hall of the People for a state banquet with Xi, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
5:41 p.m. The White House released this short summary of today's "good" talks. There is no mention of Taiwan. The notes about Chinese investment in the U.S. and purchases of American oil will draw attention, but the details remain to be seen.
5:00 p.m. Chinese Premier Li Qiang met business leaders, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook, on Thursday afternoon. Footage of the meeting showed BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Meta President Dina Powell McCormick also in attendance.
"I see many familiar faces and old friends," Li said in televised opening remarks. He stressed that "China and the U.S. can and should continue to be friends and partners."
4:40 p.m. There have been no surprises from the summit so far, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council says, according to Reuters. It says Taipei remains in close contact with Washington.
4:15 p.m. As Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's attendance in the bilateral meeting fuels speculation over whether Washington will ease export curbs over its AI chips, China's commerce ministry has noted the country's role in the AI supply chain.
"China is a key supplier of global AI infrastructure," a ministry spokesperson said during a regular briefing on Thursday afternoon, adding that it is both "a major buyer and seller" of semiconductors.
For the first four months of the year, China's chip exports grew 83.7% year-on-year in dollar terms and 10.6% by volume, according to customs data.
Regarding the outcomes of the U.S.-China trade talks on Wednesday, the spokesperson only commented that China is willing to "expand the list of cooperation opportunities and reduce the list of problems."
3:30 p.m. Here are a few more scenes from Trump's first full day in Beijing.
1:10 p.m. After their meeting, Trump and Xi head for a tour of the Temple of Heaven, a World Heritage site once used by emperors to pray for good harvests. As they pose for photos, someone calls out a question to Trump about whether he talked about Taiwan. The president does not respond.
12:45 p.m. The initial bilateral meeting has concluded after about two hours.
12:38 p.m. Chinese media report that several members of Trump's business delegation, including Tesla's Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook and Nvidia's Jensen Huang, entered the meeting room.
12:20 p.m. Xi has warned Trump that handling the issue of Taiwan "poorly" risks a "clash" between the powers, according to Chinese state media. He also said that "Taiwan independence" and peace across the Taiwan Strait are incompatible.
It was not immediately clear what Trump said on the matter.
Ahead of the summit, observers were focused on whether Trump might shift the typical U.S. language on Taiwan, such as by saying that Washington "opposes" Taiwan independence rather than just "not supporting" it. Doing so, analysts said, would be seen as a win for Beijing.
From the U.S. perspective, "not supporting independence" refers to a move by Taipei to declare de jure independence as a Taiwanese republic and abolish the old constitutional order. Beijing, however, views anyone who opposes its claim to sovereignty over Taiwan, or even supports the status quo, as advocating "Taiwan independence."
The leaders are understood to have sidestepped the Taiwan question at their last meeting in South Korea in October.
11:45 a.m. With Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg traveling with Trump, a key focus will be whether China agrees to purchase the company's aircraft.
China is looking to buy as many as 600 jetliners, according to media reports. That is twice as many as the 300 planes that state-owned China Aviation Suppliers Holding Company (CAS) agreed to purchase during Trump's previous visit in 2017, which Boeing said were worth $37 billion based on catalog prices.
Boeing has been hit by U.S.-China trade tensions, opening an opportunity for French rival Airbus to gain ground in China. Over the past two months, state-owned China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines have announced deals to buy 238 Airbus planes worth a combined $37.2 billion at catalog prices.
Analysts will be watching out for the timing of the deliveries. China's travel industry is growing but airlines are facing mounting pressure from the country's expansive high-speed rail network , which generally offers lower ticket prices.
The Iran war is further casting a shadow on consumer demand. Starting Saturday fuel surcharges for domestic flight tickets are set to rise by up to 50 yuan ($7.40).
11:30 a.m. Here are a couple of clips posted by the White House social media team.
11:15 a.m. China's stock market is mixed as the summit gets underway. The benchmark CSI 300 Index, which tracks heavyweight stocks listed on mainland exchanges, is down about 1% in morning trading, erasing its gains on Wednesday. The U.S. benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.6% on Wednesday.
Even as Trump has pledged to ask Xi to "open up" the Chinese market for U.S. businesses, investor sentiment reflects the divergence between China's push for tech supremacy and weak domestic demand. Shares of Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world's leading electric vehicle battery maker, have gained about 20% since the start of the year, while property developer Vanke is down around 15%.
10:50 a.m. As the meeting begins , Xi and Trump deliver opening remarks.
Xi asks whether the U.S. and China can establish a new paradigm of great power relations, address global issues and stabilize a rapidly changing world. "These are questions of history, questions of the world, and questions of the people," Xi says. "They are also the answers that you and I, as leaders of major powers, must jointly write for our times."
Warning that cooperation helps both countries while confrontation harms both, he says the U.S. and China "should be partners, not adversaries."
Trump thanks Xi for the elaborate welcome ceremony. "That was an honor like few I've ever seen before," he says. Referring to a group of kids who greeted him, he says, "I was particularly impressed by those children. They were happy, they were beautiful. Those children were amazing, and they represent so much."
Trump says he and Xi have a "fantastic relationship" and calls the Chinese president a "great leader."
"Sometimes people don't like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it's true," Trump says.
"The relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before," he says.
10:18 a.m. After reviewing an honor guard, Trump and Xi head inside the Great Hall of the People to start their meeting. The delegation of Trump cabinet members and business executives follows behind them.
10:05 a.m. The two presidents shake hands on the red carpet and exchange a few words. Xi then walks over to greet members of Trump's delegation, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as the president's son, Eric Trump. The American national anthem is played.
10:02 a.m. President Xi has come out to welcome Trump's arriving motorcade.
9:50 a.m. The American flag is flying outside the Great Hall of the People, with Trump expected to arrive shortly. China is turning on the charm for the U.S. president, gathering children to greet him with flowers and flags.
9:30 a.m. Back in the U.S., a New York man was found guilty on Wednesday of acting as an unregistered agent for China, Reuters reports. Federal prosecutors said Lu Jianwang, 64, should have disclosed that he was working on behalf of China when he helped open a "secret police station" in 2022. China has called the case "fabricated."
8:00 a.m. We are a couple of hours away from the big moment. Trump is due to meet Xi at 10 a.m. at the Great Hall of the People. A short greeting ceremony is to be followed by a formal bilateral meeting.
7:00 a.m. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is in China with Trump, tells Fox News that the administration will be pushing Beijing to help on the Iran issue. "We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they're doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf," he says.
Trump, when he departed on the trip, had downplayed the possibility of seeking Chinese assistance, saying he did not think the U.S. needed any help.
Rubio joined the China visit despite being sanctioned by Beijing when he was a senator in 2020, over his criticisms of alleged Chinese human rights abuses.
1:00 a.m. Trump is in Beijing now, but Japan's government had hoped he would stop in Tokyo first. That visit never materialized. Read more.
Wednesday, May 13
9:20 p.m. The White House account on X has posted a clip of Trump's red-carpet welcome.
8:20 p.m. Trump appears in the doorway to Air Force One, briefly gestures, and makes his way down the stairs. Dressed in a dark suit with a blue tie, he is greeted by officials and receives a bouquet of flowers, which is quickly handed off. Students put on a show of coordinated flag waving as the president heads for his limo.
8:00 p.m. Air Force One slowly taxis toward the waiting welcome party. A number of people disembark from the back of the blue and white jet. Meanwhile, attendants prepare a staircase and red carpet.
7:50 p.m. Trump's plane touches down at Beijing Capital International Airport as darkness falls, a little later than expected. A U.S. president is on Chinese soil for the first time since 2017.
7:10 p.m. Live footage from Beijing shows a crowd of young Chinese dressed in light blue and white, waving Chinese and American flags and ready to welcome Trump. Air Force One is expected to land in around 20 minutes.
5:50 p.m. Trump appears to have picked a new venue for his stay in Beijing. His motorcade was seen arriving at the Four Seasons Hotel, according to media reports, ahead of his touchdown in the city. The hotel is located northeast of the Great Hall of the People, the venue for the scheduled bilateral meeting with Xi on Thursday. When Nikkei Asia called the hotel, a staff member said it was fully booked but did not confirm his stay.
Enhanced security protocols surrounding the area could cause disruptions for city residents. A map app showed that a car ride between the hotel and Great Hall would take more than an hour, about double the time on normal days. The Four Seasons is also notably further away than the St. Regis, the hotel for Trump's previous visit in 2017, which sits west of the Great Hall.
4:45 p.m. Setting the stage for the summit, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held last-minute trade talks in South Korea with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang. China says they "conducted frank, in-depth, and constructive exchanges on resolving trade and economic issues of mutual concern and further expanding pragmatic cooperation."
4:30 p.m. Trump can expect a warm welcome, but the currency markets underscore the scope of China's ambitions to challenge U.S. hegemony. The Chinese yuan, or renminbi, was trading at around 6.79 per dollar on Wednesday, its highest level in more than three years.
"Most importantly, there is a tolerance from policymakers to allow the renminbi to gradually appreciate as a push for renminbi internationalization," said Rohit Arora, head of Asia FX and rates strategy at UBS.
Reducing dependency on the dollar, which dominates global trade including in oil, has long been a key goal for Chinese policymakers, as their economy relies heavily on exports for growth.
Arora said the dollar has been the sole safe haven currency during the Middle East crisis, but the yuan is serving as a "relative safe haven" among emerging market currencies. He expects that trend to continue, because policymakers have tightened management of the currency since 2023.
Chinese companies with large dollar holdings, like exporters, tend to "chase" the trends in foreign exchange movements when converting their dollars into yuan, Arora said. "If and when these Middle East tensions unwind and the dollar again declines further at that point, I would expect that conversion to accelerate."
4:00 p.m. The Temple of Heaven Park in Beijing is closed to the public on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a notice from its administrator, as authorities prepare for an anticipated tour by Trump. Located about 4 kilometers from Tiananmen Square, the historic site was used by emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for abundant harvests.
Built in 1420, the complex covers 2.73 million square meters and features 92 ancient buildings, gardens and pathways. It was inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage site in 1998. When Nikkei Asia visited in March, local visitors in traditional Chinese costumes were busy taking photos and videos in front of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the most iconic building.
Details of the expected tour by Trump and Xi are not clear, but images of the two leaders at the site would underscore the relationship's importance. "President Trump is, of course, a master of visual narrative," Susan Thornton, a senior fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center and a former diplomat, said at a forum in Beijing in March. "These kind of visits are really important symbolically."
3:40 p.m. China's foreign ministry spokesperson tells reporters that the country is ready to work with the U.S. on a basis of equality and respect to pursue mutual benefits, expand cooperation and manage differences.
3:25 p.m. Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office had some strong words earlier today, drawing lines before Trump and Xi discuss issue . "Our resolve to oppose Taiwan independence is as firm as a rock, and our capability to crush Taiwan independence is unbreakable," the office said, as quoted by Reuters.
The U.S. is Taiwan's most important security partner, even through they lack official diplomatic relations. Late last year, the Trump administration signed off on a roughly $11 billion arms package for Taipei.
Trump has said he will talk about additional planned sales with Xi. Experts have said this breaks from a decades-old assurance that Washington had not agreed to consult with China about such deals.
3:15 p.m. En route, Trump said that he will be asking Xi to "open up" China so that the American business leaders accompanying him "can work their magic, and help bring the People's Republic to an even higher level!" He referred to names including Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Tesla's Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook, Boeing's Kelly Ortberg and several others.
3:00 p.m. Ahead of Trump's arrival, the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece newspaper, the People's Daily, said in a commentary on Wednesday that bilateral relations have become "more equal" after years of volatility. Beijing's willingness to "talk and dare to fight" in response to Washington's trade war has demonstrated its strength, the paper argued, opening the door to resolving differences through dialogue.
The commentary is one of several signals China's government and official media have been sending in the run-up to the visit.
The People's Daily described the summit as a chance to "recalibrate goals and ways of interacting." The paper emphasized China's economic scale and said that the two countries can achieve mutual gains by expanding the "pie" of cooperation.
The same commentary, however, warned that Taiwan remains the "most important and sensitive core issue" in U.S. ties. Beijing claims the island democracy for itself, and is expected to press Trump on American arms sales to Taipei.
The Taiwan question was also one of "four red lines" listed by the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. The others "that must not be challenged": democracy and human rights; paths and political systems; and China's development right.
A commentary published by state news agency Xinhua said: "China is willing to meet the U.S. halfway, but will absolutely not trade away its principles, and even less will it compromise in the slightest on major issues involving national sovereignty, security or development interests."
On Monday, when China formally announced the visit for the first time, its foreign ministry shared a video titled "Peaceful Coexistence."