The US-Israel war on Iran could bolster Beijing’s leverage on issues such as hi-tech supply chains and Taiwan during the coming Trump-Xi summit, according to American experts.
US President Donald Trump is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, next week.
“He’s not going to move to reschedule it,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during an interview with Fox News on Sunday, after Trump confirmed on Friday that his visit would take place as scheduled.
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The summit, expected to begin on May 14, would be the first visit by a US president to China in more than eight years and Trump’s first overseas trip since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
The trip has not yet been officially confirmed by Beijing.
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Discussing the Iran war would likely be one of two “pressing imperatives” when the leaders met in Beijing, said Ali Wyne, a senior research and advocacy adviser on US-China relations at the International Crisis Group. The other priority would be extending the trade truce the leaders agreed on last October, he added.