Asia ASAP: Trump Leaves Beijing After Optics Heavy Summit With Xi
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
In this issue of Asia ASAP, Asia Society Policy Institute experts Wendy Cutler, Lyle Morris, Lizzi C. Lee, Shay Wester, and Robert Snedden offer preliminary commentary on the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing on May 2026.
What Happened
U.S. President Donald Trump has concluded his visit to Beijing for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. On the agenda were trade, Taiwan, the Iran War, and AI — but what did the two leaders actually discuss and agree on? ASPI experts unpack summit outcomes in this issue of Asia ASAP.
Where are the Trade Deliverables?
by Wendy Cutler
Thus far, the economic deliverables coming out of the Trump-Xi meeting are way below expectations. Beijing announced the resumption of export permits to U.S. beef producers, a long overdue move. Trump told the press that Xi had committed to purchase 200 airplanes, but Beijing has yet to confirm. The business concerns of Citibank, one of the company CEOs accompanying Trump, were apparently addressed as well.
But what we were led to expect and haven’t seen thus far is not only Chinese confirmation of the U.S. jet purchases, but other Chinese mega-purchases as well, particularly in the agricultural and energy sectors. USTR Greer has indicated that we will see more on purchases, particulary agriculture, beyond soybeans where China has already made a multi-year commitment. Also absent was the announcement of the establishment of a Board of Trade to deal with trade matters and flows in non-sensitive sectors. It’s possible that the two sides are still hammering out the details of the functions and responsibilities of this group, along with the leads in both governments. One area this group is focusing is on lowering tariffs for a basket of goods in the $30 billion range, but that also was not officially shared. A new Board of Investment was also not agreed upon, which would discuss possible new Chinese investments in the United States in non-strategic sectors.
