TAIPEI (TVBS News) — U.S. President Donald Trump landed in Beijing on Wednesday (May 13) for his first visit to China in eight and a half years, arriving with top officials and more than a dozen corporate titans as China warned that Taiwan remains "the biggest point of risk" between the two nations.
The visit occurs at a delicate moment for Trump's presidency, with his popularity weighed down by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and rising inflation. The president is seeking a win by signing trade deals with China. "I'll be talking with him about trade more than anything else," Trump told reporters Tuesday.
Trump traveled aboard Air Force One with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Business leaders including Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Tesla's Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook and Boeing's Kelly Ortberg joined the delegation. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived via Seoul, where he held trade talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng earlier Wednesday.
China's state-run People's Daily published a strongly worded editorial Tuesday, underscoring that Taiwan is "the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-U.S. relations." Beijing is displeased with U.S. plans to sell weapons to the "self-governing island," which China claims as its own territory.
Despite Trump's outward confidence, China appears to be entering the meeting from "a much stronger place," Scott Kennedy, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told AP. Beijing holds leverage on rare earths and chip technology. "Even if they don't get much on any of those things, as long as there's not a blow-up in the meeting, China basically comes out stronger," Kennedy added. The summit is expected to last less than 48 hours. ◼
