Trump meeting with Xi in Beijing at high-stakes summit amid US war with Iran

President Donald Trump is assembly in Beijing with Chinese language President Xi Jinping for a multi-day summit, throughout which Trump mentioned he’d search to deepen diplomatic and financial ties between the world’s two largest financial powers.

As they sat down to fulfill on the Nice Corridor of the Folks, Trump known as Xi a “nice chief” and touted their relationship.

“Such respect for China, the job you’ve got achieved. You are a terrific chief. I say it to all people. You are a terrific chief,” Trump mentioned. “Typically individuals do not like me saying it, however I say it anyway, as a result of it is true. I at all times say the reality.”

“We have had a improbable relationship. We have gotten alongside,” Trump mentioned. “When there have been difficulties, we labored it out. I’d name you, and you’ll name me, and every time we had an issue — individuals do not know — every time we had an issue, we labored it out in a short time, and we’ll have a improbable future collectively.”

Xi informed Trump that China and the U.S. “each stand to achieve from cooperation and lose from confrontation.”

“We ought to be companions, not rivals,” he continued. “We must always assist one another succeed and prosper collectively and discover the correct approach for main nations to get alongside properly with one another within the new period.”

Forward of the go to, Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed Fox Information that the U.S. will urge China to take a extra assertive position in resolving the U.S.’s struggle with Iran throughout Trump’s assembly with Xi. 

“It is of their curiosity to resolve this. We hope to persuade them to play a extra energetic position in getting Iran to stroll away from what they’re doing now and attempting to do now within the Persian Gulf,” Rubio mentioned throughout an interview taped on Air Power One Tuesday whereas Rubio and Trump have been on their method to Beijing. 

“We have made clear to them, you already know, that any assist for Iran would clearly be detrimental for our relationship. That clearly goes to come back up on this dialog,” Rubio mentioned.

After Trump’s assembly with Xi, they’re going to attend a state banquet Thursday night time, in accordance with the White Home.

“We’ve a number of issues to debate,” Trump mentioned on Tuesday as he departed the White Home, the place he fielded questions on what could be on the desk in the course of the high-stakes summit. The summit begins as the consequences of the U.S.-Israeli struggle with Iran proceed to ripple across the globe and the U.S. economic system stays a urgent problem at dwelling.

The president was requested whether or not the pair would focus on diplomatic methods to finish the struggle with Iran, which is in its third month. China is a key purchaser of Iranian oil, which might give it appreciable diplomatic leverage over Tehran, consultants informed ABC News. Trump mentioned the U.S. had Iran “very a lot beneath management,” including that it will be among the many subjects mentioned.

“We’re both going to make a deal or they’ll be decimated, by some means. We win,” Trump mentioned. “We will be speaking about, we’ll be speaking with President Xi.”

Trump mentioned on social media on Tuesday that he deliberate to ask Xi to “open up” the Chinese language economic system. The U.S. delegation consists of Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue and U.S. Commerce Consultant Jamieson Greer. CEOs Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Tim Cook dinner of Apple and Jensen Huang of NVIDIA in addition to the president’s son Eric Trump and daughter-in-law Lara Trump have been additionally current.

Trump mentioned the enterprise leaders joined him to “pay respects” to Xi. 

“We requested the highest 30 on this planet. Each single certainly one of them mentioned ‘sure,’ and I did not need the second or the third within the firm. I needed solely the highest. And so they’re right here as we speak to pay respects to you and to China, and so they look ahead to commerce and doing enterprise, and it may be completely reciprocal on our behalf,” Trump mentioned.

The White Home mentioned certainly one of Trump’s targets going into the summit with Xi is to safe buying agreements with China within the aerospace, agriculture and vitality sectors and the CEOs traveled with the president to assist push for that.

China’s Overseas Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, mentioned that the scheduled diplomatic conferences have been anticipated to play “an irreplaceable position in offering strategic steering for China-U.S. relations.”

“Throughout the go to, the 2 heads of state could have an in-depth trade of views on main points regarding China-U.S. relations and world peace and improvement,” Guo added, in accordance with a transcript revealed by the ministry. “China stands able to work with the U.S. to increase cooperation and handle variations within the spirit of equality, respect and mutual profit, and supply extra stability and certainty for a remodeling and unstable world.”

ABC Information’ Mariam Khan and Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.