Trade, tariffs and Iran on the table as Trump and Xi meet in Beijing

U.S. Chair Donald ruff heads into a serial publication of meetings with Chinese chairwoman Xi Jinping in peking on Thursday, aiming to secure economic wins, maintain a fragile trade truce and navigate thorny issues such as the Iran war and arms ‌sales to Taiwan.

With his approval ratings badly hurt by the war in Iran, Trump's hotly anticipated trip to China — the first by a U.S. President to America's main strategic rival since his last visit there in 2017 — has taken on added significance.

Joining him on the trip is a group of CEOs, including Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, a late addition who boarded Air Force One during a refuelling stop in Alaska en route to the Chinese capital at Trump's ​request.

Many of those executives, including Huang and Musk, are seeking to resolve issues with China, and ​Trump has said he will urge Xi to "open up" China to U.S. Business.

The power dynamic has shifted since Trump's last visit to Beijing when China went out of its way to lavish Trump and buy billions of dollars' worth of U.S. Goods, said Ali Wyne, senior adviser for U.S.-China relations ​at International Crisis Group, a conflict-prevention think-tank and advocacy group.

Back then "China was trying to persuade the United States of its growing status.... This time around it's the United States, unprompted, ⁠of its own volition, that is acknowledging that status," ⁠Wyne said. He added that Trump revived the term 'G2,' referring to a superpower duo, when he ‌last met Xi on the sidelines of an APEC meeting in South Korea in October.

This week's meetings will provide plenty of face time between the leaders. According to the White House, they are scheduled to hold talks at the Great Hall of the People, tour the UNESCO World Heritage Site Temple of Heaven and attend a state banquet on Thursday, before taking tea and lunch together on Friday.

Trump enters the talks with a weakened hand. U.S. Courts have hemmed in his ability ⁠to levy tariffs at will on exports from China and other countries. The Iran war has also boosted inflation at home and escalated the risk that Trump's Republican Party will lose control of one or both legislative branches in November's midterm elections.

Trump downplays tension ahead of China trip

Though the Chinese economy has faltered, Xi does not face comparable economic or political pressure. Nevertheless, both sides are eager to maintain a trade truce struck last ‌October, in which Trump suspended triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods and Xi backed away from choking global supplies of rare earths, which are vital in making items from electric cars to weapons.

They are also expected to discuss forums to support mutual trade and investment, as well as dialogue on AI issues.

Washington is looking to sell Boeing airplanes, farm goods and energy to China to cut a trade deficit that has long irked Trump, while Beijing wants the U.S. To ease curbs on exports of chipmaking equipment and advanced ​semiconductors, officials involved in the planning said.

Aside from trade matters, Trump is expected to encourage China to convince Tehran to make a deal with Washington to end the conflict. But analysts doubt that Xi will be willing to push Tehran hard or end ⁠support for its military, given Iran's value to Beijing as a strategic counterweight to the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News aboard Air Force One that it was ⁠in China's interest to help resolve the crisis, as many of its ships are stuck in the Persian Gulf and a slowdown in the global economy would hurt Chinese ⁠exporters.

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