Beijing Summit: US President Trump lands in China, meet with Xi Jinping amid global crisis

US President Donald Trump has arrived in China on an important summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to ease tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.

President Trump arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport on Wednesday night at 7:50 p.m. (1150 GMT) after boarding Air Force One, signaling the first visit by a US president to China since almost a decade ago.

The upcoming summit takes place amidst deteriorating relations between the US and China due to trade disagreements, the matter of Iran, and Taiwan, along with the increasing competition between the two powers globally in AI technology.

It is anticipated that US President Donald Trump will have a meeting with Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, on Thursday morning. He will then have a state banquet hosted for him on the same day, followed by another meeting including tea and a working lunch with President Xi Jinping on Friday morning, prior to his departure from China back home.

It was reported that Trump was accompanied by leading American businessmen during his trip, including Nvidia Corporation Chairman and CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla Inc. chief executive officer Elon Musk, owing to growing interest in AI chips.

At present, Beijing is facing some restrictions when it comes to access to advanced semiconductor technology due to US export controls.

Before the negotiations began, President Trump indicated his willingness to develop economic ties by telling China’s president to “open up” their country to promote more business deals.

On the other hand, the Chinese government welcomed the US president and noted its readiness to cooperate despite the current disagreements between the two countries.

In addition, trade relations and the current trade war will play an essential role in the discussion. At the moment, both countries impose tariffs in excess of 100 percent on certain goods. A brief ceasefire in the tariff war made during their last meeting in South Korea will also be discussed.

The issue of Taiwan, as well as the US selling weapons to Taiwan, are expected to be raised during the discussion, as is the case of Iran.

Despite the tensions, both presidents are quite optimistic about the outcome of this summit since they hope that this will help resolve some global issues and stabilize their relationships.