On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced a planned visit to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in mid-May. This announcement comes after an earlier trip was canceled due to military actions in Iran. Initially, the visit was set for March 31 to April 2, but it was called off following U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran that began on February 28. Trump shared on social media that the meeting with the “Highly Respected President of China, President Xi Jinping,” has been rescheduled for May 14 and 15 in Beijing, marking a delay of approximately six weeks.
In addition to his visit, Trump revealed plans for a future visit from President Xi and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan, to the United States at an unspecified date. “First Lady Melania and I will also host President Xi and Madame Peng for a reciprocal visit in Washington, D.C., later this year. Our representatives are currently finalizing the details for these historic visits,” he noted. Trump expressed his eagerness to meet President Xi, anticipating a “Monumental Event.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that the rescheduling of the state visit does not imply an end to the Iran conflict, although she suggested it might be concluding soon.
When questioned about the potential end of the conflict in Iran, Leavitt stated, “We’ve consistently projected a timeline of four to six weeks, so you can calculate from there.” She added that President Xi was cooperative in rescheduling the visit and acknowledged Trump’s need to remain in the U.S. during the military operations. “President Xi understood the importance of the President being present during these combat operations,” she mentioned, noting that Xi was accommodating of the postponement request.
Trump has said the visit will serve as a reset for US-China relations amid the world’s two largest economies’ competition for global recognition and military dominance. The President has also called on China and US allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz due to the nation’s reliance on oil and gas that transits the narrow chokepoint. ‘Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships,’ Trump wrote on social media on March 14.
However, he later backtracked and said the US does not need any help in securing the Strait through which a quarter of the global oil and natural gas supplies flow. Trump and Xi previously met in October 2025 at a summit in South Korea. During his first term, the President hosted Xi at Mar-a-Lago in 2017, and the leaders also met later that year in Beijing. They also got face time at various G20 events in 2018 and 2019.
