Key Points:
- The upcoming summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping may yield few business breakthroughs.
- American CEOs have not yet secured a delegation spot for the China visit.
- Beijing remains frustrated by the Trump administration’s rushed planning process.
- The meeting will focus heavily on maintaining the current trade truce.
The upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is approaching quickly, but experts warn not to expect massive changes. According to sources familiar with the planning, the summit later this month will likely fail to reset the strained business and investment ties between the two nations.
Currently, Washington and Beijing are focused on survival rather than growth. Both sides want to maintain the fragile stability they established late last year after a brutal period of U.S. tariffs and Chinese export blocks on rare earth metals. Because of this tension, American business leaders have not yet secured a spot on the trip, despite pushing hard for a CEO delegation.
The planning itself is causing problems. Chinese officials are reportedly frustrated with the Trump administration’s last-minute approach. State visits usually require months of careful coordination, but Washington only recently started its working-level meetings. Ryan Hass, a director at the Brookings Institution, noted that the ambition for this trip seems to shrink every single day.
Despite the chaos, some specific deals are on the table. The biggest potential win is an agreement for China to purchase about 500 narrow-body jets from Boeing. However, Beijing wants major concessions, including multi-year parts guarantees, before they sign. Because of Boeing’s massive production backlog, these planes wouldn’t even be delivered until the 2030s.
The issue of tariffs also hangs heavy over the talks. The U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down a 10 percent fentanyl-related tariff that Trump placed on China. The administration plans to find a new legal way to reimpose it, which could spark anger during the meetings.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer tried to set realistic expectations. He stated that the goal of the trip is not to fight about trade. Instead, the administration just wants to ensure China keeps buying American agricultural products and continues sending the rare earth metals the U.S. desperately needs.
