Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a meeting on the sidelines of their visit to the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing, China, Friday, May 15, 2026.
President Donald Trump is insistent that U.S.-China relations are good and getting better despite deep differences on key issues. Trump started his last day of his whirlwind trip to Beijing by boasting on social media that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had “congratulated me on so many tremendous successes.” But Trump’s rosy outlook collides with some difficult truths, including China's limited involvement in resolving the Iran conflict. Xi privately warned Trump that their differences on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, if handled poorly, could hurtle the world’s dominant powers toward an “extremely dangerous situation.” Trump and Xi are meeting again Friday for more talks before Trump returns to Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up his visit to Beijing with a private meeting at Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s official residence before he departs for Washington. During a series of meetings and events on Thursday the two discussed divisive issues such as the Iran war, trade, technology and Taiwan.