Iran, Taiwan, AI, And Trade: Five Key Issues Driving The Trump-Xi Meeting In China

Last Updated:May 14, 2026, 08:34 IST

Donald Trump visits China amid global turmoil, talks focus on US Iran war and Strait of Hormuz, Taiwan tensions, AI tech rivalry, trade tariffs and minerals, and fentanyl disputes

Donald Trump is on a state visit to China, marking the first such visit by a United States president in almost a decade. The visit also comes at a time when the world is witnessing geopolitical upheaval and the Middle East is engaged in an intractable conflict.

With a history of a rocky and strained relationship, there is much for the leaders of the world’s two major superpowers to discuss during this visit; however, some key issues dominate the agenda of this meeting, as per a report published in The Guardian.

1. US-Iran War

US President Trump is hoping that China will push Iran to advance peace talks and eventually reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Till now, Beijing has been silently witnessing the US-Iran conflict and has not intervened at all, at least publicly.

However, with half of China’s crude oil imports passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Chinese President Xi Jinping is not in favour of the waterway being blocked.

China is aware that its country’s exports will suffer if there is a global recession because of the oil supply crisis.

To complicate the situation further, the US has imposed sanctions on several Chinese firms this week after accusing them of assisting Iranian oil shipments and providing them with satellite imagery allegedly used in Iranian military operations. Beijing has denied the claims. The visit of Trump also comes after Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Beijing last week.

2. Dispute Over Taiwan

China is expected to press the US on the Taiwan issue, especially after Trump said that he was open to discussing US arms sales to the self-ruled island, which China claims is its breakaway territory despite never having governed it.

In December, Trump signed an $11bn arms package for Taiwan, which marked the largest weapons sale ever to the island; however, no such shipments were ever sent.

Xi may also pressure the US to change how it refers to Taiwan. From China’s perspective, this would be Washington’s statement “opposing" Taiwan’s independence and not just “not supporting" it.

In a phone call, China’s foreign minister had asked United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “make the right choices" on Taiwan two weeks ago.

3. War On Artificial Intelligence

The two superpowers have been racing against each other in the field of artificial intelligence, which is now turning into a technological cold war.

In April, the US had accused China of stealing intellectual property of US AI labs on an industrial scale, which was denied by Beijing.

Meanwhile, China has not been happy with the US’s reluctance to permit Nvidia to export its most powerful processing chips to China.

The White House in January stated that Nvidia is free to export its second most powerful chip, H200; however, no shipments have been sent yet.

4. Trump’s Trade War On China

The trade relations between the US and China has remained severely strained, with Trump, last year, imposing tariffs above 140% last year.

In reply, China had blocked exports of its magnets and rare earth minerals to the US. As of May 2026, the US has a baseline tariff of around 10% on many Chinese imports, after Washington and Beijing temporarily rolled back the much steeper retaliatory tariffs imposed during the 2025 trade war escalation.

The US has also lost many of its weapons arsenal in the Iran war, and now the weaponry components require critical minerals, which are linked to supply chains dominated by China.

According to reports, China is likely to announce purchases related to Boeing aeroplanes as well as American agriculture and energy.

Beijing, in return, wants the US to decrease curbs on exports of advanced semiconductors.

5. Fentanyl

Fentanyl is an issue dominating Trump’s agenda this week, as per Politico. For a long time, the US has accused Chinese businesses of supplying the chemical precursors to Mexican cartels, who have been using fentanyl to make drugs.

If Trump pressures China over fentanyl, it will also be appreciated by his MAGA supporters.

However, Trump lost his leverage on the fentanyl front when China pushed back on his tariff threats. The two countries had also clashed over fentanyl and trade in March at a UN drugs meeting.

China wants its name removed from the US State Department’s annual list of “major drug transit or illicit drug producing countries", which will be updated in September.

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