US-China Summit: Iran War Likely to Dominate, US Business Delegation Significantly Reduced
The upcoming visit of the US President to China is expected to be dominated by discussions on the Iran war, potentially narrowing the scope for resolving trade issues. The accompanying US business delegation is anticipated to be smaller than usual.
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- 📰 Published: May 8, 2026 at 13:40
- 🔍 Collected: May 8, 2026 at 14:01 (21 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 8, 2026 at 22:30 (8h 28m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency, Washington, 7th, comprehensive foreign reports) US President Trump is scheduled to visit China from May 14 to 15, marking the first visit by a US president since 2017. It is widely expected that the Iran war will become the core issue of this US-China presidential summit, thereby compressing the space for resolving disputes such as trade and rare earths.
CNBC, a US financial news network, quoted a source familiar with the arrangements as saying that the scale of the business delegation accompanying Trump's visit to China may be smaller than those accompanying recent visits by other countries to China.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously stated that the Iran issue would be one of the topics in the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting. Earlier this week, China hosted Iran's foreign minister for the first time since the war broke out in late February, raising expectations for a peace agreement.
A senior US business executive directly familiar with the arrangements revealed that the US government rejected China's invitation to arrange industry-level meetings between Chinese leaders and US business executives, as Washington did not want to see an image of US companies rekindling enthusiasm with Beijing.
The executive also said that as of May 5, the White House had not yet formally invited the business community to accompany Trump on his trip, and a list of about 24 accompanying business leaders originally proposed might be halved.
Two other sources revealed that the CEOs of Boeing and Citigroup would accompany Trump on his visit.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has hosted more than a dozen foreign leaders this year, including those from the UK, Germany, Canada, Spain, and South Korea, who usually bring large business delegations. CNBC believes that if this Trump-Xi summit can resolve the major geopolitical shadows that also trouble businesses, the business community may not mind the compression of commercial issues.
Zhao Hai, director of the International Political Research Department at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' National Global Strategy Think Tank, said that the end of the Iran war would be a "great relief for the global business community" and would be seen as a major success of the Trump-Xi summit.
In Beijing, Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said that the sight of Trump and Xi Jinping together could still send a signal that doing business with US companies is once again becoming more acceptable.
On the other hand, the urgency of some current US-China business-related issues is declining. Previous reports revealed that both countries are downplaying recent confrontations over US sanctions and technology issues, while also cooperating on the growing threat of artificial intelligence (AI) security.
Scott Kennedy, senior adviser for China business and economics research at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), expects Trump to discuss US plans to establish various trade and investment-related committees responsible for handling specific bilateral issues.
Kennedy said, "This meeting is likely to consolidate the advantages China has gained over the past year." He pointed out that Beijing's focus may still be on issues such as tariffs, Taiwan, and US restrictions on China's access to advanced technology. (Compiler: Chen Yiwei) 1150508
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(Central News Agency, Washington, 7th, comprehensive foreign reports) US President Trump is scheduled to visit China from May 14 to 15, marking the first visit by a US president since 2017. It is widely expected that the Iran war will become the core issue of this US-China presidential summit, thereby compressing the space for resolving disputes such as trade and rare earths.
CNBC, a US financial news network, quoted a source familiar with the arrangements as saying that the scale of the business delegation accompanying Trump's visit to China may be smaller than those accompanying recent visits by other countries to China.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously stated that the Iran issue would be one of the topics in the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting. Earlier this week, China hosted Iran's foreign minister for the first time since the war broke out in late February, raising expectations for a peace agreement.
A senior US business executive directly familiar with the arrangements revealed that the US government rejected China's invitation to arrange industry-level meetings between Chinese leaders and US business executives, as Washington did not want to see an image of US companies rekindling enthusiasm with Beijing.
The executive also said that as of May 5, the White House had not yet formally invited the business community to accompany Trump on his trip, and a list of about 24 accompanying business leaders originally proposed might be halved.
Two other sources revealed that the CEOs of Boeing and Citigroup would accompany Trump on his visit.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has hosted more than a dozen foreign leaders this year, including those from the UK, Germany, Canada, Spain, and South Korea, who usually bring large business delegations. CNBC believes that if this Trump-Xi summit can resolve the major geopolitical shadows that also trouble businesses, the business community may not mind the compression of commercial issues.
Zhao Hai, director of the International Political Research Department at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' National Global Strategy Think Tank, said that the end of the Iran war would be a "great relief for the global business community" and would be seen as a major success of the Trump-Xi summit.
In Beijing, Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said that the sight of Trump and Xi Jinping together could still send a signal that doing business with US companies is once again becoming more acceptable.
On the other hand, the urgency of some current US-China business-related issues is declining. Previous reports revealed that both countries are downplaying recent confrontations over US sanctions and technology issues, while also cooperating on the growing threat of artificial intelligence (AI) security.
Scott Kennedy, senior adviser for China business and economics research at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), expects Trump to discuss US plans to establish various trade and investment-related committees responsible for handling specific bilateral issues.
Kennedy said, "This meeting is likely to consolidate the advantages China has gained over the past year." He pointed out that Beijing's focus may still be on issues such as tariffs, Taiwan, and US restrictions on China's access to advanced technology. (Compiler: Chen Yiwei) 1150508
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The text, images, and audio-visual content of this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.