Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the state banquet for U.S. President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. © Reuters
SHANGHAI/TOKYO -- U.S. President Donald Trump is making his first visit to China in nearly nine years, as the rival superpowers aim to stabilize their fraught relationship.
The American president arrived Wednesday evening and is scheduled to stay until Friday. The itinerary includes plenty of face time with Chinese President Xi Jinping, from formal bilateral talks to a state banquet, tea and lunch.
The leaders have much to discuss: the Iran war, trade and export controls, tensions over Taiwan, and artificial intelligence. Trump has brought an entourage of corporate executives including Tesla's Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook and Nvidia's Jensen Huang. There are high expectations that the president will help seal commercial deals for aircraft and U.S. farm goods.
Xi warns Trump that handling Taiwan issue 'poorly' risks a 'clash'
Set to host Trump, Xi targets stability under cloud of Iran uncertainty
China Inc.'s global growth curbs Trump tariff powers undercut by courts
Trump-Xi summit: 5 things to watch as world's most powerful men meet
Trump-Xi meeting keeps Taiwan on edge, eyeing subtle US shifts
5:00 a.m. Xi gives his assurance that China will not provide weapons to Iran, Trump says.
"President Xi would like to see a deal made," Trump tells Fox News host Sean Hannity. "He would like to see a deal made. And he did offer, he said 'if I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help."
Xi also pledge cooperation on opening the Strait of Hormuz, according to Trump.
11:15 p.m. Shares in Nvidia are up 4% in New York trading after a Reuters report that the U.S. had approved sales of the powerful H200 chip to Chinese companies.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joined the entourage of American business leaders accompanying Trump to China.
The H200 is a high-end AI processor that is more advanced than the H20 chips Nvidia designed for the Chinese market in response to U.S. export restrictions.
Asked this month whether China should have the "latest and greatest chips," Huang replied, "No," adding the U.S. should maintain a lead in artificial intelligence.
11:00 p.m. A U.S. State Department photo shows the American delegation in Beijing, including top business leaders. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook and Citigroup's Jane Fraser can be seen standing behind Trump.
8:50 p.m. Russia says it will be conducting its own diplomacy with China's president.
"We are expecting our own separate contacts with Xi Jinping," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says when asked if Beijing and Moscow would consult about the outcome of Trump's visit, according to Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit China soon.
8:30 p.m. In an taped interview with U.S. channel CNBC, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offers some tidbits about Chinese investment, AI, commercial deals and other matters.
