politics
Trump Meets Xi at Beijing Summit
President Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing this week amid ongoing conflict with Iran and concerns over Taiwan. Trump has reiterated that Iran will stop uranium enrichment and cannot be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, while officials consider possible further military action. The summit comes as U.S.
May 12, 8:45 AM·3m read53 sources
UN+50
cnbc.comAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
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. 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.
