The visit will be the first in-person meeting between Trump and Xi since October, when they met in South Korea and agreed to the trade truce.
US President Donald Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2 for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, the White House confirmed on Friday, just as the Supreme Court overturned many of the tariffs he imposed on imported goods during a global trade war.
The visit brings together the leaders of the world’s two largest economies at a moment of renewed uncertainty in bilateral trade relations.
Trade truce under renewed scrutiny
Trump’s extended stay in Beijing had been expected to centre on prolonging a trade truce that prevented both countries from escalating tariffs further.
However, the Supreme Court’s decision has raised fresh questions about US-China ties, which had recently steadied after Trump reduced tariffs on China in return for steps by Beijing. Those measures included action against the illicit fentanyl trade and a pause on export restrictions covering critical minerals.
20 per cent tariffs on China’s US-bound exports had been imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The Supreme Court ruled that Trump exceeded his authority under the law. The duties were linked to national emergencies concerning fentanyl distribution and trade imbalances.
Other tariffs on Chinese goods remain in effect, including those introduced under legislated trade authorities known as Section 301 and Section 232.
It was not immediately clear how many of the tariffs Trump would restore, but he said at a press conference that he would impose a new 10 per cent global tariff for 150 days.
Trump’s previous visit to China in 2017 was the most recent by a US president.
“That’s going to be a wild one,” Trump told foreign leaders visiting Washington on Thursday about the upcoming China visit. “We have to put on the biggest display you’ve ever had in the history of China.”
Administration stance on trade imbalance
The Trump administration has said the global tariffs were necessary to address national emergencies tied to trade imbalances that it argues have weakened US manufacturing.
Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Trump had already been “playing defense” in the trade war, pointing to Beijing’s threat to restrict rare earth supplies. The tariff defeat likely “cements his weakness in their eyes,” he said.
“They (Chinese officials) like the direction of travel of the bilateral relationship in which the U.S. is diminished and they want to keep things from re-escalating,” Kennedy said.
First face-to-face talks since October
The visit will mark the first in-person meeting between Trump and Xi since October, when they met in South Korea and agreed on the trade truce.
Although the October meeting largely avoided the sensitive issue of Taiwan, Xi raised US arms sales to the island during a conversation with Trump this month.
Washington approved its largest-ever arms sale to Taiwan in December, including $11.1 billion in weapons that could be used to defend against a Chinese attack. Taiwan expects additional sales.
China regards Taiwan as its territory, a position rejected by Taipei. The US, bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, maintains formal diplomatic relations with China while sustaining unofficial ties with Taiwan and serving as the island’s most important arms supplier.
During a February call, Xi said he would consider further increasing soybean purchases, according to Trump. China is the top soybean consumer, and struggling US farmers are a significant political constituency for Trump.
Broader trade tensions remain
Although Trump has defended several hawkish policy measures — from Canada to Greenland and Venezuela — as necessary to counter China, he has in recent months eased policy towards Beijing in areas ranging from tariffs to advanced computer chips and drones.
The global trade war launched after the start of his second term in January 2025 has strained relations with other trading partners, including allies.
Critics argued that imposing steep tariffs across multiple countries insulated Beijing from the impact of the measures and reduced incentives to shift supply chains away from China.
Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics, said Friday’s ruling could indirectly increase pressure on Beijing if effective tariff rates on other countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, fall more sharply than those on China.
“Unlike with many other countries, there is a well-established, much more legally durable mechanism for most of the tariffs on China that make them less affected than those on other countries,” Chorzempa said.
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