US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping have met in Beijing, shaking hands on a red carpet outside the Great Hall of the People prior to entering the venue for a series of high-stakes bilateral talks between the world’s two largest economies.

The two leaders are also scheduled to attend a state banquet later in the evening, Thursday May 14, highlighting the diplomatic weight attached to the visit despite a deepening strategic rivalry.

The agenda for the talks spans a range of topics including tariffs, intensifying US–China competition over emerging technology, the Iran war and Taiwan, reflecting a broad set of geopolitical and economic frictions in place between Washington and Beijing. In the days before arriving, Trump was reported as saying he would discuss arms sales to Taipei which has caused a degree of concern in some circles.

According to the BBC, Trump is accompanied by a group of senior technology executives, including the Tesla and social media platform ‘X’ chief Elon Musk and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang.

The visit is Trump’s first return to China since 2017, and he arrives in a country that has become significantly more assertive on the global stage and is increasingly keen to project itself as a stable counterweight in international affairs.

The trip was originally scheduled for March but was delayed due to the then approaching outbreak of the Iran war which has added further geopolitical sensitivity to an already closely watched diplomatic engagement.

Inside the US delegation, Trump is also joined by a Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Chinese authorities have not released a comparable list of officials attending on their side as of the initial meeting.

After the initial welcome, the leaders were seen walking together up a long flight of steps towards the East Gate of the Great Hall of the People ahead of the talks.

The arrival ceremony itself was marked by tightly choreographed scenes in Tiananmen Square, with dozens of children lining the red carpet, waving flags and flowers as the two leaders passed.