Five things to watch in Asia as Trump prepares to meet China’s Xi this week

BEIJING — The U.S. and China are rallying their East Asia ties ahead of a highly anticipated presidential summit in Beijing later this week.

Trade negotiators from both countries are slated to meet in Seoul, South Korea, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with China’s Xi Jinping, scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

The packed itinerary reflects the regional dynamic at play in U.S.-China relations, with the summit being closely watched by leaders globally.

Here’s the full agenda:

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived in Japan Monday, where he will meet Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Japan is one of the countries most affected by the Iran war as the Asian nation relies on the Middle East for about 75% of its oil imports.

Bessent’s visit comes at a time when relations between Beijing and Tokyo have frayed, following Takaichi’s comments in November that indicated Tokyo would support Taiwan if threatened by Beijing’s military, drawing a sharp response from Beijing. She has not softened her statement, despite Beijing’s requests.

During her visit to U.S. in March, Trump and Takaichi “committed to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” according to the White House.

Japan will closely watch the official wording on Taiwan following the Trump-Xi meeting, with the U.S. president on Monday saying that arms sales to Taipei were on the summit’s agenda.

Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead a delegation to South Korea from Tuesday to Wednesday for trade talks with the U.S, according to China’s Commerce Ministry. The readout didn’t mention other meetings, but referenced the Trump-Xi summit in Busan, South Korea, in October last year.

While it’s not clear whether Bessent accounted for U.S. time zone differences, his announcement only noted that on Wednesday, he will “stop in Seoul for a discussion with Vice Premier He Lifeng of China.”

It’s a sign of the tight planning schedule — and consequently deliverables — for this week’s summit in Beijing. China didn’t officially confirm the meeting until Monday.

“In our view, the summit will be more about avoiding an unnecessary escalation of tensions and managing risks than building up structural mechanisms and forging deep friendships,” Nomura’s Chief China Economist Ting Lu said in a note Monday.

“The most pressing agenda Item is the Iran-Hormuz crisis,” he said.

The following morning, he will participate in a welcome ceremony and hold a bilateral meeting with Xi, before they tour the historic Temple of Heaven — a 15th-century landmark in central Beijing. The evening is set to close with a state banquet.

The White House has invited more than a dozen U.S. executives to join Trump on his trip to China. The leaders include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg. However, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was not on the list.

China’s imports of Boeing aircraft, U.S. soybeans and beef will likely increase as a result of the Trump-Xi summit, but won’t likely recover to highs seen in recent history, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit China.

The amount of China’s purchases will likely be limited by U.S. concessions on tech exports, which in turn are constrained by dynamics in Washington, EIU analysts said.

The U.S. president is scheduled to have tea and a working lunch with Xi, before leaving China.

As discussed during last fall’s summit in Busan, Xi is expected to visit the U.S. later this year, and the conclusion of this week’s meeting in Beijing will be closely watched for any sign of an exact travel date.

The Chinese leader visited the U.S. for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in 2023, but has not made a formal state visit since 2015, during the Obama administration. Trump had visited China in 2017 during his first term as well, while his successor Joe Biden had skipped traveling to the Asian country.

Rounding out the high-level political engagement are growing expectations that Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin could visit Beijing as soon as Monday, May 18.

Trump and the expected visit by Putin will round out dozen or so leaders who have come through Beijing in just the first five months of 2026 as China’s clout grows.

Ahead of Trump, Xi hosted Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon. Last week, Iran’s foreign minister also traveled to Beijing for the first time since the Iran war.

Iran will definitely be discussed during the Trump-Xi summit, said Cui Shoujun, a professor at Renmin University of China’s School of International Studies.

China is one of the few countries with relations with Iran and Gulf countries, he pointed out, noting Beijing would want to help resolve the tensions. As for the greater question of U.S.-China relations, Cui emphasized that the two presidents’ meeting this week is just a start of more discussions.