Trump’s China visit likely won’t yield breakthrough, aims to maintain stability

The summit is unlikely to create room for even a limited reset of business and investment ties. Read more at straitstimes.com.

BEIJING/WASHINGTON – A summit between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping in March is unlikely to create room for even a limited reset of business and investment ties, five people briefed on preparations said.

American business leaders at this stage have not secured the chief executive officer delegation some had sought. On the other side, there is no indication Beijing is on track for the investment protections it has sought on behalf of Chinese companies.

Washington and Beijing are looking to maintain the stability that has characterised relations between the world’s two largest economies since late 2025 after a bruising period marked by Mr Trump’s tariffs and China’s chokehold on rare earths exports.

But some US companies had also held out hope that Mr Trump’s visit could go further than a green light for the deals on Chinese purchases of soya beans and Boeing aircraft, already under consideration.

Overshadowing the summit – the first Trump-Xi meeting since they agreed on the trade truce in October 2025 – has been Chinese frustration with the Trump administration’s last-minute planning for an event that normally takes months of painstaking preparations, three people with knowledge of the arrangements told Reuters.

Uncertainties, besides clearance for Chinese investment, include the thorny issue of Mr Trump’s tariffs and whether he will be joined by the kind of high-profile business delegation that the leaders of Canada, Britain and Germany recently brought to China on their state visits.