President Trump and Chairman Xi Jinping: A History of Bilateral Meetings

U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to China this week will mark the seventh meeting between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping. It is also the first visit by a U.S. leader to China since 2017. The three-day summit, starting Wednesday, is expected to focus on the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, trade, and the Taiwan issue.

Here is a recap of previous meetings between the leaders of the world's two major powers:

April 2017 in Palm Beach, USA
The two leaders first met at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on April 6, 2017, just months after Trump took office for his first term. At the time, Trump had just ended his campaign with heavy criticism of China's trade policies. Trump had also angered China by taking a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, breaking decades of diplomatic protocol. At the Mar-a-Lago meeting, Trump appeared to build a personal rapport with Xi and said the two sides had made "tremendous progress" in improving relations. However, the summit was overshadowed by Trump's decision to launch airstrikes in Syria during Xi's visit to the U.S.

July 2017 in Hamburg, Germany
Xi and Trump met on the sidelines of the G20 summit on July 8, 2017, kicking off a series of meetings at major international events. The meeting focused on North Korea's nuclear program and economic relations. A month later, the Trump administration launched the U.S.-China trade war by initiating an investigation into intellectual property theft by China.

November 2017 in Beijing, China
Trump arrived in China on November 8, 2017, for a three-day visit accompanied by a delegation of U.S. business leaders. The itinerary included watching Beijing opera, visiting the Forbidden City and the Palace Museum, attending a banquet at the Great Hall of the People, and a private meeting with Xi. Trump left China with $250 billion in "business deals" in energy, agriculture, and technology, though some agreements were merely planned or already ongoing projects. However, the positive atmosphere did not prevent Trump from imposing tariffs on China a few months later.

December 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina
The two leaders had dinner on December 1, 2018, on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Prior to that, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods and banned U.S. government agencies from using Huawei and ZTE equipment, prompting Beijing to retaliate with tariffs on $110 billion of U.S. goods. Despite tensions, the White House hailed the meeting as "very successful," and both sides agreed to negotiate outstanding issues, including intellectual property protection and cyber theft.

June 2019 in Osaka, Japan
Trump and Xi met at the G20 summit on June 29, 2019. They agreed on measures to de-escalate, including halting new tariffs, more flexible trade negotiations, easing restrictions on Huawei, and China committing to buy more U.S. farm goods. Months later, the U.S. and China signed a "phase one" trade deal, under which the U.S. reduced tariffs and China pledged to purchase $200 billion of goods and services. However, China fell short of its commitments within the timeframe due to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting global trade.

October 2025 in Busan, South Korea
Trump and Xi held their first meeting in six years on the sidelines of the APEC summit on October 30, 2025. They met to renew a ceasefire in the escalating tariff war, after the U.S. and China had imposed tariffs of 145% and 125%, respectively. Despite the ceasefire, the Trump administration maintained sectoral tariffs and technology export controls, while China tightened export controls on rare earths. After the talks, both sides announced a one-year pause in the trade war, with the U.S. reducing tariffs and China agreeing to ease rare earth export restrictions and resume purchases of U.S. farm goods.