President Donald Trump arrived in China on Wednesday, saying he plans to discuss the war in Iran and the issue of Taiwan with Xi Jinping.
Trump said on Tuesday that he planned to have a "long talk" with Xi about China's trade ties with Iran as the war continues.
"He's been very nice about this, you know, in all fairness, he gets like, 60% of his oil from Hormuz, and he's been, I think he's been very respectful. We haven't been challenged by China," Trump told press.
Asked whether he would ask Beijing to help end the war, Trump downplayed the role the country could have. "I don't think we need any help with Iran. We'll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise," he said. "They're defeated militarily, and they'll either do the right thing or we'll finish the job."
He went on to say that the U.S. will "either going to make a deal or they're going to be decimated, one way or the other." And addressed soaring oil prices, saying "as soon as this war is over, which will not be long, you're going to see oil prices drop, and you're going to see a stock market, which is already at the highest point in history, go through the roof."
Trump also said on Monday that Taiwan would also be discussed. Asked whether he thinks the U.S. should still sell weapons to Taiwan, he said: "Well, I'm going to have that discussion with President Xi." China has reiterated its opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. It's unclear whether Trump will approve a $14 billion package.
Trump is joined in his trip by Cabinet officials, family members and business executives including Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook and Elon Musk. Jensen Huang, CEO of tech giant Nvidia, boarded Air Force One during a refueling stop in Alaska. He had not appeared on earlier lists. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the invitation took place at the last minute.
Bloomberg has reported that the Trump administration wants to finalize the details of a board of trade during the trip. Trump's last visit to Beijing had resulted in 37 deals worth $250 billion.
Trump's visit to Beijing comes amid a decline in China's trade with the United States this year, the South China Morning Post reported.
Beijing's merchandise exports to the US fell more than 10.2 per cent year on year to$133.4 billion in the first four months of 2026, according to official data.
China's imports from the US also declined 10.9 per cent to$45.8 billion in the same period. Beijing's trade surplus with the US has been pegged at $87.7 billion so far.
China's exports to the US rose 11.3 per cent year on year to US$36.8 billion in April, dodging a declining trajectory from January to March.
