US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to open a closely watched summit in Beijing as Washington and Beijing seek to stabilize a fragile economic truce while maneuvering around issues related to Iran, Taiwan, and control over critical supply chains.

Trump, who last visited China in 2017, is scheduled to arrive on May 13 and hold a series of meetings and public events with Xi on May 14 and 15. The visit marks the first direct meeting between the two leaders in more than six months, in an effort to restore some stability to relations strained by tariffs, export restrictions on critical minerals, and broader geopolitical disputes.

Although the summit is expected to cover a wide range of economic and geopolitical issues — from US soybean exports to China’s relationship with Russia — the Iran war will also be on the agenda, according to senior US officials who briefed reporters on May 10.

One official said that “President Trump has spoken several times with President Xi Jinping about Iran,” adding that Trump expects to “apply pressure” on Beijing, which relies on discounted Iranian oil as part of their mutually beneficial relationship, in order to help secure an agreement to end the war that has now entered its third month.

While the fallout from the Iran war, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, will overshadow the summit, US officials and analysts believe trade tensions will remain the central focus when Trump and Xi meet at the Great Hall of the People.

Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at French investment bank Natixis, said: “President Xi wants to reduce US support for Taiwan, particularly by pushing to delay or limit American arms sales.” She added that Beijing is also seeking relief from US export restrictions on advanced technology and protection for its role in global supply chains.

Seeking a trade truce

The two sides are also expected to sign a series of agreements involving purchases of agricultural products such as soybeans and Boeing aircraft, alongside discussions on creating new frameworks to facilitate bilateral trade and investment.

The Trump administration imposed steep tariffs on China at the start of 2024 following the beginning of Trump’s second term, but trade tensions later eased after the US Supreme Court limited some tariffs and ruled others unlawful over recent months. Trump and Xi also reached an agreement in South Korea in October 2025 that reduced tensions by easing some export restrictions, including shipments of rare earth minerals to the United States.

Analysts believe Beijing will attempt to leverage its dominance over critical minerals and rare earth supplies — a group of 17 elements essential for everything from smartphones to fighter jets — to strengthen its negotiating position.

Michael Clarke, a China policy expert at the Center for American Progress in Washington, said the United States “has realized that China possesses tools it can use whenever it chooses because it dominates the mining and processing of rare earths and critical minerals needed for nearly everything.”

China accounts for more than 70% of global rare earth mining, 90% of processing and separation operations, and 93% of related magnet manufacturing.

In October 2025, China unveiled a legal framework allowing it to block exports of rare earths and dual-use components to any country, reinforcing restrictions it had already imposed months earlier on seven strategic rare metals important to defense industries.

In return, the Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea suspended some of those restrictions in exchange for easing certain US tariffs and resuming Chinese imports of American soybeans.

Rana Mitter, professor of US-Asia relations at Harvard University, said: “Both sides understand they possess tools capable of inflicting serious damage on the other,” adding that this is one reason the current trade truce has continued and is expected to remain in place at least until October, and possibly longer if Washington chooses to extend it.

Iran war casts shadow over summit

Although trade negotiations and official ceremonies will dominate the headlines, the Iran war will weigh heavily on the summit.

Just one week before Trump’s arrival in Beijing, China highlighted its close ties with Tehran by hosting the Iranian foreign minister.

The US Treasury Department also recently imposed sanctions on five private Chinese refineries, including one of the country’s largest, over processing Iranian crude oil. Beijing responded with an unusually public challenge, urging companies to ignore US sanctions, although financial regulators quietly advised major state-owned banks to suspend new loans to blacklisted refineries.

The US State Department additionally sanctioned four Chinese entities on May 8, accusing them of “providing satellite imagery that assisted Iranian military strikes against US forces in the Middle East,” accusations strongly rejected by China’s foreign ministry.

China and the United States share a strategic and economic interest in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which handled one-fifth of global oil and gas flows before the war. However, analysts say the key question is whether Beijing is willing to pressure Tehran — and what it would demand from Washington in return.

“China will not help Trump reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless it receives something of very significant value,” Clarke said, suggesting that such concessions could include easing US restrictions on advanced technology exports such as AI chips, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and jet engines.

What about Taiwan?

Taiwan is also expected to be a major issue where Beijing seeks concessions.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has pledged to eventually bring it under its control, by force if necessary. Beijing remains deeply concerned about US arms sales to the self-governed island and may push the Trump administration to formally oppose Taiwanese independence.

Washington approved a record $11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan in December and is reportedly preparing another package that could exceed $14 billion, although reports suggest notification to Congress has been delayed to avoid disrupting the summit.

Trump told reporters on May 11 that arms sales to Taiwan would be among the issues discussed with Xi.

In recent years, Beijing has intensified its “gray-zone” pressure campaign against Taiwan through blockade simulation drills, cyberattacks, and increasingly aggressive information warfare operations.

“China wants to make clear during the summit that it sees US support for Taiwan as a core issue,” Mitter said, adding that changing Washington’s stance on Taiwan may be a more important and explicit objective than discussions surrounding Iran.

Nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence, and Russia

The summit agenda also includes artificial intelligence, nuclear weapons, and China’s support for Russia during the war in Ukraine.

However, it remains unclear how deeply these issues will be discussed during the meetings.

Beijing has shown reluctance to engage in broad nuclear weapons talks and may seek to avoid substantive discussions on the matter. The Trump administration has also said it intends to raise concerns over Chinese financial support for Russia and establish a “communication channel” to avoid conflicts related to advanced AI models.

Garcia Herrero said: “The summit may produce a short-term truce that temporarily stabilizes markets, but it is unlikely to resolve the deep structural rivalry between the two powers in technology, supply chains, and security.”

The US S&P 500 index moved further away from its record highs on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected producer price data reinforced investor expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain a restrictive monetary policy throughout the year.

Data showed that US producer prices rose more than expected in April, marking the biggest increase since early 2022, in the latest sign of accelerating inflation amid the fallout from the war with Iran.

The report came just one day after US consumer inflation recorded its largest increase in three years during April, pushing both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes away from their record highs.

“These numbers are a major inflation challenge and simply mean that Kevin Warsh is not moving toward rate cuts anytime soon — and possibly not for the rest of the year,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities.

Traders are now expecting the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged throughout the year, while the probability of a rate hike by December climbed to 34.3%, compared to around 15% just one week ago, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Markets are also preparing for a more hawkish approach under Kevin Warsh after the US Senate confirmed his appointment to the Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday. He could officially assume the role of Fed chair as early as Wednesday, with Jerome Powell’s term ending on Friday.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing accompanied by a delegation that included Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and billionaire Elon Musk, after pledging to urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to “open markets” to American companies during the two-day summit.

Trump had previously said ahead of the summit that he does not expect to ask Xi for help in resolving the conflict with Tehran.

Oil prices saw limited movement during the day after three consecutive sessions of gains, while investors awaited any new developments related to Iran.

Wall Street fears that a prolonged conflict could keep energy prices elevated, increasing inflationary pressures and complicating Federal Reserve monetary policy decisions.

By 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 249.05 points, or 0.50%, to 49,511.51 points. The S&P 500 declined 13.91 points, or 0.19%, to 7,387.05 points, while the Nasdaq edged up 3.40 points, or 0.01%, to 26,091.60 points.

Nine out of the 11 major sectors within the S&P 500 traded in negative territory, with utilities leading losses after falling 1.6%.

Meanwhile, the selloff that hit semiconductor stocks during the previous session stabilized, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising 1.7%.

Among notable stocks, Nebius Group jumped 10% after the AI-focused cloud computing company reported quarterly revenue growth of nearly eightfold.

Earlier in the day, Morgan Stanley raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 8,000 points from 7,800, saying US equities still have room for further gains as companies continue delivering strong earnings.

On the trading front, declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 2.39 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange and by 1.89 to 1 on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 also recorded 11 new 52-week highs against 32 new lows, while the Nasdaq posted 55 new highs and 118 new lows.

Copper prices rose for an eighth consecutive session on Wednesday, reaching their highest levels since January 29, supported by positive technical signals and higher prices in the United States, while aluminum climbed to its highest level in nearly four weeks.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.9% to $14,152.50 per metric ton by 10:19 GMT, after posting a record close on Tuesday.

The London Metal Exchange index, which tracks six base metals contracts, also closed at a record high on Tuesday as copper continued moving closer to its intraday all-time high of $14,527.50 per ton reached on January 29, alongside strong performance across other base metals.

Copper has been supported by expectations of stronger future demand, along with solid factory activity data that eased concerns over the immediate economic impact of the Middle East conflict on global growth. The market is also reacting to concerns over sulfuric acid availability for some copper producers following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Yangshan copper premium, a key gauge of China’s appetite for importing the metal, rose 3% to $72 per ton, its highest level since mid-April, signaling resilient demand in the world’s largest metals consumer despite elevated prices.

In the United States, the most active July copper contract on the COMEX exchange rose 1.7% to $6.644 per pound after touching a fresh record high.

US copper is currently trading at a premium of nearly $500 per ton over London Metal Exchange prices, amid expectations that Washington could decide by the end of June on imposing tariffs on refined copper imports.

Neil Welsh, head of metals at Britannia Global Markets, said in a note: “Expectations for policy measures are drawing more metal into the United States and tightening supply elsewhere, adding another layer of support to the global market.”

In the aluminum market, prices on the London Metal Exchange rose 2.3% to $3,641.50 per ton after the metal reached its highest level since April 17, amid supply disruptions affecting Middle East producers because of the war with Iran.

Prices also received additional support after daily London Metal Exchange data showed registered and deliverable aluminum inventories falling to 301,725 tons following the cancellation of new storage warrants for around 30,000 tons in Malaysia.

Among other base metals, zinc rose 0.2% to $3,538 per ton, lead gained 0.6% to $2,008.50, tin jumped 1.6% to $55,560, and nickel climbed 1.3% to $19,190 per ton. Both zinc and lead reached their highest levels since late January.

Bitcoin opened Wednesday trading at $80,473.98, down 1.5% from Tuesday’s opening price, before rising to $80,611.27 by 7:08 a.m. Eastern Time.

Ethereum also opened at $2,274.41, down 2.8% compared to the previous day’s open, before climbing to $2,299.60 during morning trading.

The decline in cryptocurrencies followed the release of US Consumer Price Index data, which highlighted the impact of the Iran war on rising energy costs. Crypto investors are also closely watching US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week to see whether it could lead to improved trade agreements or encourage China to support de-escalation efforts in the Middle East.

As for Bitcoin’s performance, the opening price was down 0.6% compared to last week, but it remains up 13.7% on a monthly basis, while declining 21.7% compared to the same period last year.

Bitcoin recorded its all-time high at $126,198.07 on October 6, 2025, while its all-time low was $0.04865 on July 14, 2010.

Ethereum, meanwhile, saw its opening price fall 3.7% compared to last week, though it remains up 3.7% on a monthly basis and down 8.9% year-over-year.

Ethereum reached an all-time high of $4,953.73 on August 24, 2025, while its all-time low stood at $0.4209 on October 21, 2015.

Regarding taxation, cryptocurrency investors are taxed when they sell digital assets for more than their purchase price. Converting one cryptocurrency into another — such as exchanging Bitcoin for Ethereum — is also considered a taxable event under US Internal Revenue Service rules.

Crypto taxes are not paid at the moment a trade is executed. Instead, they are reported as part of the tax return for the year in which the transaction took place. Therefore, any gains from selling cryptocurrencies during 2025 would be disclosed when filing tax returns in early 2026.

The amount of tax owed depends on two main factors: the length of time the digital asset was held before being sold, and the investor’s total taxable income and filing status.

Short holding periods — less than one year — usually result in higher tax rates, while taxes decline the longer the asset is held, making the timing of a sale an important factor that can create a difference of more than 17% in the total tax burden.