Trump-Xi Summit Opens in Beijing as Brussels Watches Nervously

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping opened their two-day state summit in Beijing on Thursday 14 May 2026 with an opening session of two hours and fifteen minutes. It is the first state visit by a sitting US president to China since Mr Trump’s previous visit in 2017 — and Brussels is watching with a mixture of unease and pragmatic interest.

“Partners, not rivals” — and a Taiwan warning

The opening exchange at the Great Hall of the People struck both a conciliatory and a pointed note. President Xi told his American counterpart that the United States and China “should be partners, not rivals.” President Trump, for his part, said the US delegation looked forward to discussing “reciprocal” trade. Asked by reporters about the talks shortly after the opening session, the President answered: “It’s great. Great place, incredible. China is beautiful.”

The most pointed moment, according to a readout from Beijing’s foreign ministry, came when President Xi turned to the question of Taiwan. He warned Mr Trump that mishandling the issue would cause “clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy.” Taiwanese officials had publicly expressed concern in the weeks leading up to the summit about being “on the menu” in the Trump-Xi talks.

What Brussels is watching for

For the European External Action Service and the High Representative Kaja Kallas, the summit raises three distinct sets of concerns. The first is whether the United States softens its language on Taiwan in any joint communiqué or in private commitments — a development that would force European capitals to recalibrate their own posture on cross-Strait questions, particularly on arms sales and on consultations with Taipei. The second concern centres on the war in Iran and the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which remains at roughly 5% of pre-conflict commercial traffic, with Brent crude trading above $103 per barrel.

Mr Trump is widely expected to press Beijing to use its influence with Tehran — China and Iran are economic and diplomatic partners — to broker a reopening of the strait. For the European Union, a successful US-China-Iran de-escalation would relieve the inflation and energy pressure that is reshaping the macro and political environment across the bloc; a failed one would deepen the European energy crisis through the summer.

Trade: the fragile truce that affects EU exports

The third concern is trade. The Trump-Xi truce of October 2025 — agreed at the APEC summit in Busan, South Korea — saw Washington reducing tariffs on Chinese goods from 57% to 47%, while Beijing agreed to resume large-scale purchases of US soybeans, postpone planned rare earth export restrictions, and enhance cooperation on combating fentanyl trafficking. Any extension of that truce — even an informal tacit one — would directly affect the trade environment for European firms operating in both markets.

The risk for Brussels is twofold: either Washington and Beijing strike a tactical bilateral arrangement that bypasses the EU, leaving European exporters exposed to a tightened Chinese market and to spillover tariffs; or the talks collapse, reigniting the tariff war that had pushed levies past 140% at the worst point in spring 2025. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič has, in recent weeks, intensified bilateral consultations with both Washington and Beijing in anticipation of either scenario.

The China factor in EU defence and tech

Beyond the immediate Beijing meetings, the summit reinforces a structural question for European policy: how dependent should the EU remain on US-led China policy? The European Commission has launched a series of de-risking initiatives over the past two years — in semiconductors, rare earths, clean energy supply chains, and, most recently, in AI and digital infrastructure — that explicitly assume a more autonomous European posture on China.

The accelerating Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific, combined with the US pivot to a transactional diplomatic style, has narrowed the European margin for manoeuvre rather than widened it. A senior EEAS official noted on Wednesday evening: “Whatever the joint statement says on Friday, our task on Monday is the same — building European capacity to act when American attention turns elsewhere.”

The 48-hour calendar

The summit continues on Friday with the formal signing of joint deliverables, followed by a press availability. The joint communiqué is expected in late afternoon Beijing time. The European Council will be briefed by Ms Kallas at its next informal meeting; the next EU-China summit, last hosted in Beijing in 2023, is tentatively scheduled for the second half of 2026 under the Cypriot Presidency.