Trump Meets Xi at Beijing Summit

President Trump is traveling to Beijing this week for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping as tensions over Iran's nuclear program and Taiwan continue. The meeting, the first U.S. presidential visit to China in nearly 10 years, will address trade, tariffs and regional security issues.

Trump has said the U.S. is militarily stronger than China and that Iran is "just a question of time" in stopping its uranium enrichment activities. Trump told reporters he is "100%" certain Iran will cease enrichment. "They're going to stop, and they told me...

the Iranians told me they said that we're going to get the dust," he said, referring to Iran's nuclear material. The president added that the U.S. maintains a blockade preventing Iran from obtaining funds and does not need to rush any decisions. "We don't have to rush anything.

We have a blockade which allows them no money. It's a very simple thing: we cannot let them have a nuclear weapon — because they'd use it," Trump stated.

Iran has warned it could enrich uranium to 90 percent purity, considered weapons-grade, if attacked again by the U.S. or Israel. The possibility of a U.S. U.S. officials told Axios that Trump is more seriously considering resumption of major combat operations against Iran than in recent weeks but will likely wait until after the China visit.

Options could include air strikes or restarting elements of Project Freedom, an escort operation in regional waters. Before departing, Trump declined to comment on potential U.S. action when asked by NewsNation's Kellie Meyer. "I'm not going to talk to you about that, obviously," he said.

The 10-week conflict with Iran has driven up global energy costs. Consumer prices in the U.S. climbed 3.8 percent in April, the highest level in three years, as gasoline prices surged, according to government data released Tuesday. The increase marked the second consecutive month of rising inflation and matched economists' expectations.

"Inflation’s being driven by higher energy costs," Allspring Global Investments strategist George Bory said of the April CPI report. "There is an upward trajectory in inflation that hasn’t shown signs of turning yet. agricultural products or Boeing aircraft.

The summit will test a fragile tariff truce between the world's two largest economies. Lawmakers have urged the Trump administration to move ahead on a delayed arms sale to Taiwan, which has been held up for months ahead of the Beijing meeting. Taiwan's semiconductor industry, particularly TSMC, remains central to global supply chains and a key point of leverage in U.S.-China tensions.

One week before Trump's arrival, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Beijing. U.S. Air Force planes landed in Beijing ahead of the visit as both sides prepare their positions. China has proposed a plan that could help break the stalemate between the U.S. and Iran, though details remain unclear.

Beijing holds leverage in the talks due to its influence over rare earth supplies and its stance on the Iran conflict.

“We are stronger than China militarily.... we will 100% stop uranium enrichment in Iran" — President Trump (May 2026). The summit occurs against a backdrop of recent Houthi drone launches toward Israel, the first since an Iran-related ceasefire took effect in early April. Israeli forces intercepted at least two drones launched from Yemen near Eilat, with no sirens activated and no casualties reported.”

The ongoing Middle East conflict has contributed to higher energy prices that are now feeding into broader U.S. inflation measures. April's 3.8 percent year-over-year increase follows a similar rise in March, with gasoline costs cited as the primary driver across multiple reports.

While the Beijing summit focuses on trade and geopolitics, any agreements reached could help ease supply chain pressures or commodity costs that have exacerbated recent inflation readings. No immediate policy shifts were announced prior to Trump's departure.