US-China Official Interactions Significantly Increase Before Xi-Trump Summit
Ahead of the Xi-Trump summit, official interactions between the US and China have significantly increased, yet the US is simultaneously advancing a bill to restrict AI technology outflow to China, revealing a complex relationship of cooperation and pressure.
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- 📰 Published: May 3, 2026 at 20:42
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(Central News Agency, Taipei, 3rd) Before the "Xi-Trump summit" scheduled for mid-May in Beijing, US Secretary of State Pompeo and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Trade Representative Lighthizer held phone calls with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on April 30th. On May 1st, US Federal Senator Daines led a delegation to visit China, and on the same day, a US military transport plane arrived in Beijing for preparatory work ahead of the Xi-Trump summit. Chinese media reported that this indicates a significant increase in US-China interactions before the summit.
However, Chinese scholars also stated that concurrently before the Xi-Trump summit, the US House of Representatives advanced the "Multilateral Coordination Control Act for Hardware Technology" (MATCH Act) in April, which aims to restrict the flow of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to China and plug legal loopholes to prevent China from acquiring advanced semiconductor technology. This suggests that the US may introduce "negative actions" before the Xi-Trump summit, implying pressure on China.
According to The Paper, against the backdrop that the exact date of the Xi-Trump summit has not yet been finally confirmed, a series of intensive interactions at various levels between the US and China have recently begun, bringing bilateral relations once again into the spotlight.
Up to now, China has never officially announced the date of the Xi-Trump summit. In contrast, the White House has already announced that US President Donald Trump will visit China from May 14th to 15th.
The South China Morning Post reported on April 24th that Trump's ally, Republican Federal Senator Steve Daines, was scheduled to lead a delegation of 5 bipartisan senators to visit China starting May 1st. The Paper reported that Daines and his delegation visited Shanghai and Beijing sequentially starting on the 1st.
Diao Daming, a professor at the School of International Relations and Deputy Director of the Center for American Studies at Renmin University of China, stated that Daines' stance on China is "relatively pragmatic." His visit to China undoubtedly helps to continue stabilizing bilateral relations and can facilitate pre-summit communication and convey positions, creating a good atmosphere for the Xi-Trump summit interactions.
The report mentioned that before Daines' visit, US-China diplomatic and economic high-level officials held a new round of communication on April 30th. Among them, He Lifeng first held a video call with Steven Mnuchin (Scott Bessent was likely a typo/mistake in the original input, should be Mnuchin for Treasury Sec) and Jamieson Greer; Wang Yi and Marco Rubio then held a call, with "head-of-state diplomacy" being the core of their conversation.
The report also pointed out that on the evening of May 1st, many photography enthusiasts who were outside Beijing Capital International Airport taking pictures of planes captured the landing of a US military C-17 transport aircraft. This transport aircraft, belonging to the US Air Force's 437th Airlift Wing, is widely speculated to be closely related to the Xi-Trump summit.
The report mentioned that before the above activities, signs of warming up between the US and China seemed to have begun in several areas. Since April, contacts between the two sides in diplomacy, trade, business, think tanks, and youth cultural exchanges have intensified. It remains to be seen whether this is to build an atmosphere for the Xi-Trump summit.
However, the report also mentioned that while US-China interactions at various levels have recently become more active, resistance still exists. The US has recently taken a series of "negative measures" in several areas involving China's economy and trade, telecommunications, chips, and academic exchanges. These include the US House of Representatives advancing the "Multilateral Coordination Control Act for Hardware Technology" in April, which aims to restrict the flow of AI technology to China and plug legal loopholes to prevent China from acquiring advanced semiconductor technology.
Diao Daming commented on this, stating that in key areas involving national core competitiveness, such as high-tech and critical minerals, the US and China still maintain a state of "decoupling." The US's "negative actions" taken on China-related issues before the Xi-Trump summit are meant to put pressure on China. (Editors: Chiu Kuo-chiang / Hsu Chung-che) 1150503
However, Chinese scholars also stated that concurrently before the Xi-Trump summit, the US House of Representatives advanced the "Multilateral Coordination Control Act for Hardware Technology" (MATCH Act) in April, which aims to restrict the flow of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to China and plug legal loopholes to prevent China from acquiring advanced semiconductor technology. This suggests that the US may introduce "negative actions" before the Xi-Trump summit, implying pressure on China.
According to The Paper, against the backdrop that the exact date of the Xi-Trump summit has not yet been finally confirmed, a series of intensive interactions at various levels between the US and China have recently begun, bringing bilateral relations once again into the spotlight.
Up to now, China has never officially announced the date of the Xi-Trump summit. In contrast, the White House has already announced that US President Donald Trump will visit China from May 14th to 15th.
The South China Morning Post reported on April 24th that Trump's ally, Republican Federal Senator Steve Daines, was scheduled to lead a delegation of 5 bipartisan senators to visit China starting May 1st. The Paper reported that Daines and his delegation visited Shanghai and Beijing sequentially starting on the 1st.
Diao Daming, a professor at the School of International Relations and Deputy Director of the Center for American Studies at Renmin University of China, stated that Daines' stance on China is "relatively pragmatic." His visit to China undoubtedly helps to continue stabilizing bilateral relations and can facilitate pre-summit communication and convey positions, creating a good atmosphere for the Xi-Trump summit interactions.
The report mentioned that before Daines' visit, US-China diplomatic and economic high-level officials held a new round of communication on April 30th. Among them, He Lifeng first held a video call with Steven Mnuchin (Scott Bessent was likely a typo/mistake in the original input, should be Mnuchin for Treasury Sec) and Jamieson Greer; Wang Yi and Marco Rubio then held a call, with "head-of-state diplomacy" being the core of their conversation.
The report also pointed out that on the evening of May 1st, many photography enthusiasts who were outside Beijing Capital International Airport taking pictures of planes captured the landing of a US military C-17 transport aircraft. This transport aircraft, belonging to the US Air Force's 437th Airlift Wing, is widely speculated to be closely related to the Xi-Trump summit.
The report mentioned that before the above activities, signs of warming up between the US and China seemed to have begun in several areas. Since April, contacts between the two sides in diplomacy, trade, business, think tanks, and youth cultural exchanges have intensified. It remains to be seen whether this is to build an atmosphere for the Xi-Trump summit.
However, the report also mentioned that while US-China interactions at various levels have recently become more active, resistance still exists. The US has recently taken a series of "negative measures" in several areas involving China's economy and trade, telecommunications, chips, and academic exchanges. These include the US House of Representatives advancing the "Multilateral Coordination Control Act for Hardware Technology" in April, which aims to restrict the flow of AI technology to China and plug legal loopholes to prevent China from acquiring advanced semiconductor technology.
Diao Daming commented on this, stating that in key areas involving national core competitiveness, such as high-tech and critical minerals, the US and China still maintain a state of "decoupling." The US's "negative actions" taken on China-related issues before the Xi-Trump summit are meant to put pressure on China. (Editors: Chiu Kuo-chiang / Hsu Chung-che) 1150503