Expert Insights
May 12, 2026
Trump–Xi Summit: Handshakes Will Not Erase the China Challenge
In May 2026, the leaders of the world’s two largest economies, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, will meet at a moment of heightened tensions in trade, security, technology, and human rights. Although both sides have a short-term incentive not to exacerbate friction—Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other Administration officials characterize the relationship in advance of the summit as “stable,” while tempering expectations of any breakthrough—the meeting takes place against a backdrop of accumulated grievances that no single summit can resolve and no American president can ignore: structural economic manipulation that has hollowed out American industry, a military buildup meant to challenge U.S. power in the Pacific and beyond, systematic repression of minorities and dissidents that Beijing exports to American soil, and the ongoing detention of American citizens.