US President Donald Trump (L) and China’s President Xi Jinping stand for their counties’ national anthems during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images
BEIJING — U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday morning for the start of a high-stakes summit that runs through Friday.
Iran, Taiwan and artificial intelligence are among the many topics the two sides are expected to discuss, on top of tariffs and rare earths. The last time a sitting U.S. president visited China was in 2017.
On Thursday, Xi walked down the stairs of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to shake hands with Trump, according to official broadcast footage. The U.S. president first shook hands with Chinese officials, followed by Xi greeting the U.S. delegation.
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi and Zheng Shanjie, head of the economic planning agency, were among the Chinese representatives, the footage showed.
The U.S. contingent included Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as business executives such as Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
This is a developing story; please refresh for updates.
