Ben Hatton
Live reporter

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US President Donald Trump has arrived in China for his first visit in almost a decade ahead of high-stakes talks with President Xi Jinping.

Also aboard Air Force One when it touched down in Beijing were some of the biggest names in US industry - including tech billionaire Elon Musk, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, and Boeing's Kelly Ortberg.

Trade is expected to be high on the agenda. Trump has said his "very first request" will be for China to "open up" so these "brilliant people can work their magic".

The US has had a bumpy relationship with China on trade - with Trump having reignited a trade war started in his first term early in his second term, before agreeing a truce last October.

But there are other issues on the table. China is widely thought to be able to exert influence over Iran - where Trump is seeking a peace deal, although he insists he does not need China's help. But China has its own interests in the area - it's estimated to buy around 90% of Iran's oil imports.

The main diplomatic events and pageantry will play out on Thursday and Friday - see an overview of Trump's schedule here - but for now we're pausing our live coverage.

Read the story here

The relationship between the United States and China affects everything from global trade and technology to climate policy and security. But how well do the two superpowers really understand each other?

The BBC’s Asia Specific podcast this week examines the assumptions, misconceptions and political narratives shaping one of the world’s most consequential rivalries.

Host Mariko Oi speaks to BBC China correspondent Laura Bicker in Beijing and Zhengyu Huang, a former White House Fellow under President Obama and former president of the Committee of 100, about what both sides want from a Trump-Xi summit.

Now Trump is in China, here's what he could push forpublished at 14:27 BST

14:27 BST

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent, reporting from Beijing

Image source, Getty Images

As ever with Trump, a big part of this trip will simply be about the visuals: he loves being pictured with powerful leaders amid all the trappings of state. From a policy perspective the picture is much more complicated.

Trump badly needs some relief from his tanking approval ratings and the prospects of Republican defeat in this year’s midterm elections caused by the rising cost of living. With the latter linked to the Iran war, talks with Xi could help if Beijing would agree to pressure Tehran, but that’s a very challenging goal for Trump.

Xi could in return seek concessions from Trump over Washington’s support for - and particularly arms supplies to - the self-governed island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims. The White House has already signalled it won’t change its policy on Taiwan.

Easier wins for Trump are on trade. The current truce over tariffs he struck with Xi in the autumn should be maintained. This helps keeps up the flow of rare earth elements and magnets from China vital for US tech including the defence industry. And look out for pledges about Chinese investment in the US, like sales of Boeing aircraft and more American soybeans - key to frustrated farmers in some election-critical US states.

Although Trump has now arrived in China, the main events of the trip are scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Here's his itinerary at a glance:

Thursday

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• Trump will be welcomed at an arrival ceremony with Xi at China's Great Hall of the People
• The two leaders will then hold talks
• A state banquet is scheduled for the evening

Friday

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• There will be a "friendship photo" and handshake with Xi in Beijing's Zhongnanhai Garden - home to the Communist Party's headquarters. For foreign dignitaries, invitations here are often viewed as a sign of closeness and recognition
• This will be followed by another bilateral meeting and tea with Xi. A working lunch is then scheduled

• Trump will then head back to the airport for a departure ceremony

Jonathan Josephs
Business reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Some big name business leaders have got off the plane with President Trump in Beijing, the CEO’s of Nvidia, Apple, Tesla and Boeing among them.

But overall the amount of trade between the two countries has been falling in recent years amid a deepening trade war, and the tariffs and other trade restrictions that has brought.

Last year two-way trade was worth $414.7bn (£307.3bn), which is along way down on the $690.4bn (£511.6bn) that it peaked at in 2022.

One of the big issues President Trump has is the unbalanced nature of that trade, with America buying over $200bn more goods from China last year than it sold to it.

Image source, Getty Images

One way to tackle that is to sell more American goods to China, which will be popular back home for the jobs and opportunities it would create.

Some of the most likely beneficiaries could be US soybean and beef farmers as well as planemaker Boeing.

Its CEO Kelly Ortberg recently told investors he was "highly confident" of a deal that would mean "a big number" of new planes being ordered as a result of this summit.

However, when China and the US struck a trade deal in President Trump’s first term Beijing didn’t buy everything it said it would. It remains to be seen if history will repeat itself.

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Vice-President Han Zheng was at the tarmac to receive Trump as he walked down the steps from Air Force One.

Han is among China’s top leaders and sending him to receive Trump is being read as Beijing showing the US president respect. Last time, during his 2017 visit, they sent a lower-level leader, State Councillor Yang Jiechi.

Han also attended Trump’s inauguration last year.

Image source, Alex Wong/Getty Images

The US president and his party have now left the tarmac in a motorcade.

Among those following Trump along the red carpet before their departure were tech billionaire Elon Musk and Trump's son Eric.

US President Donald Trump has just landed in Beijing, China, where he will holding talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping over the next two days.

He arrived to a brass band playing and flag wavers performing a routine while chanting "welcome welcome, a warm welcome" as he got into his presidential vehicle.

Trump's party includes tech CEOS, including Telsa boss Elon Musk, who was seen on the tarmac.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

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Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump steps out of Air Force One and gives a fist pump to the greeting party.

US President Donald Trump has arrived in Beijing.

During his two-day visit, Trump will hold high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Joining Trump on his trip to China are some of the US's top business leaders.

Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Tim Cook of Apple, Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, and Larry Fink of BlackRock, are among those the US president says are travelling with him.

"I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to 'open up' China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level," Trump says in a post on social media.

Trump says that will be his "very first request" when he meets the Chinese leader.

"I have never seen or heard of any idea that would be more beneficial to our incredible Countries," he says.

The boss of Nvidia, a company which has been central to the US-China technology rivalry, was reportedly a last-minute addition.

Image source, VCG via Getty Images

Shortly before departing for China, Trump told reporters in Washington he and Xi will have a "long talk" about Iran, but insisted "I don’t think we need any help".

Shortly after the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, the Iranian regime effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz - a critical shipping route through which roughly 20% of the world's oil passes. In April, the US began blocking ships from leaving Iranian ports.

"You look at the blockade, no problem," Trump said about his relations with Xi over the issue, adding: "They got a lot of their oil from that area. We’ve had no problem, and he’s been a friend of mine."

His Chinese counterpart has been "relatively good" on the issue, Trump said, adding it would be a "very exciting trip" and "a lot of good things are going to happen".

Speaking last week, Trump said "we haven't been challenged by China" over the issue, adding that Xi would not do that "because of me".

Can China help bring about a resolution to the Iran war?published at 12:26 BST

12:26 BST

Laura Bicker
China correspondent, reporting from Beijing

Image source, Getty Images

The war in Iran will dominate the agenda as Donald Trump meets Xi Jinping.

China faces growing pressure from the US to use its economic and political influence over Iran. The two countries have an alliance dating back decades, and Beijing is Tehran’s biggest trading partner.

In talks with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi earlier this month, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said Beijing was ready to help de-escalate tensions.

There’s no doubt China will want an end to this war. Beijing's economy was already battling slower growth and higher unemployment when Trump’s tariffs hit last year. It has proven to be resilient - but now the conflict in the Middle East is taking a fresh toll, with rising oil prices putting pressure on factory-running costs and orders.

China has backed Pakistan’s peace plan, which is part of its measured efforts to mediate, while also trying to avoid becoming entangled in the conflict.

We'll be watching to see what other steps Beijing may be willing to take during these talks.

Trump and Xi's highly anticipated meeting was initially set for 31 March. It now comes after almost two months of delays as the US remains entangled in its war against Iran.

In mid-March, a couple of weeks after the war began, Trump postponed the meeting, saying he had to remain in the US due to the ongoing conflict.

“I want to be here. I have to be here, I feel. And so we requested that we delayed a month,” he said at the time.

China – one of Iran’s biggest diplomatic supporters and its number one customer for oil - had also reportedly been hesitant to go ahead with the meeting before the war is resolved.

But earlier this week, Beijing confirmed that the summit would go ahead in just a few days' time - consistent with its usual practice of announcing plans for top leaders at the last minute, for security reasons.

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent, reporting from Beijing

Image source, Reuters

I’ll be part of the White House reporters’ pool for this trip tracking Donald Trump close up when his itinerary starts tomorrow.

As his motorcade zooms into Beijing, the US president will see the incredible bustle mixed with the ascetic sense of order that strikes you here: the regimented police, the highly manicured parks, the gleaming skyscrapers denoting China’s rise to challenge the sole superpower status of America.

Trump tends to admire, envy even, the control exerted by a select number of his foreign counterparts - “strong” leaders as he puts it - and he was effusive with praise once again for President Xi Jinping before he left the US.

But beyond any flattery lies a high-stakes encounter between the leaders of the world’s biggest economies and most formidable rivals.

The trip was planned well before Trump’s war on Iran but was postponed once because of it. And with no signs of a breakthrough in his current pressure campaign, Trump will likely see if Beijing is prepared to exert any more its considerable leverage over Tehran - particularly to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

But for that, Xi will want something significant in return.

Stephen McDonell
China correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

There are both police and military police stationed on street corners in central Beijing, especially around the five-star hotels where members of Trump’s entourage may be staying.

They are also standing guard on the walking bridges which cross main roads and at the entrances to pedestrian tunnels in the heart of the city.

The Chinese government usually steps up security for any visiting leader but, in the case of the US President, it has seems even more pronounced.

For weeks leading up to this trip there has been extra screening in the streets around Tiananmen Square.

The Great Hall of the People on the west side of this square, is where most of the events are taking place over the coming days, including ceremonies, meetings and a banquet.

But the vibe is not all dreary, with colourful boxes of newly grown flowers placed along the avenues where Trump’s motorcade will likely pass.

There are so many of them and they seem so impressive that there are jokes going around China’s social media about the high quality of these “taxpayer-funded flowers”.

Nearly a decade on, Trump returns to a stronger and more assertive Chinapublished at 11:41 BST

11:41 BST

Laura Bicker
China correspondent

When China's leader Xi Jinping hosts his American counterpart in Beijing, Donald Trump will be reminded of his last visit in 2017 – he was wooed hard, complete with dinner inside the Forbidden City, an honour no US president before him had received.

This reception promises to be just as grand, including a stop inside Zhongnanhai, the rarefied compound where China's top leadership lives and works. The agenda too will be just as thorny, with Iran being a new source of tension, alongside trade, technology and Taiwan.

But a lot has changed as Trump returns to a stronger and far more assertive China.

Now well into an unprecedented third term, an ambitious Xi has been pushing forward with plans for "new productive forces" with heavy investments in renewable energy, robotics and artificial intelligence.

Not only does Washington now acknowledge Beijing as "near-peer", one analyst describes China as "arguably the most powerful competitor that the US has confronted in its history".

How this summit could set superpower relations for many years to comepublished at 11:34 BST

11:34 BST

Anthony Zurcher and Laura Bicker

Image source, Reuters

This summit between the world's two most powerful leaders is set to be one of the most consequential encounters for years - with a number of key issues at stake.

China is trying to quietly play peacemaker in the Iran war, now in its third month, but may want something in return for stepping in to help the US. Trump said he would have a "long talk" about Iran with Xi.

On Taiwan, the Trump administration has been sending mixed signals, approving a massive arms deal while downplaying its willingness to defend the island from Chinese aggression. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said they would discuss Taiwan on the trip, though the goal would be to ensure it does not become a source of new tensions.

As for trade, Trump will push to increase Chinese purchase of US agricultural products, while China is sure to pressure the US to drop its probe into unfair business practices which could allow Trump to reimpose higher tariffs on Chinese goods.

Xi hopes China's investment in AI will help propel its economy forward. But many in the US are wary of Chinese firms stealing their technology - leading to US restrictions on exporting the latest microprocessors. This is where Beijing could use its leverage over rare earths, and there may be a deal to be done.

Read this story for more analysis from our correspondents.

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump will soon arrive in Beijing - the first visit to China by a US leader in nearly 10 years - ahead of a high-stakes meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping

Air Force One will on Wednesday arrive in the Chinese capital, kicking off a two-day visit that was originally meant to be held in March, but was rescheduled after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

The war, and China's emerging role in mediating a resolution, are likely to be discussed, though Trump said before leaving the US he didn't need Xi's help with Iran.

Trade, technology and Taiwan are also expected to be discussed. Trump announced on Truth Social he would be asking his counterpart, who he described as a person of "extraordinary distinction", to "open up" China to US major tech companies - whose leaders are joining him on the trip.

For Beijing's part, top of the agenda will be extending the trade truce agreed last October that halted tariff escalation between both countries.

The trip, the first Trump has made to Beijing since 2017, will include an arrival ceremony at China's Great Hall of the People and a stop at Zhongnanhai, the compound where China's top leadership lives and work. We'll bring you updates and analysis of key moments over the course of the trip.