Trump Arrives in Beijing for Xi Summit — Iran Expected to Dominate Talks; Rubio and Hegseth Accompany — Day 75

President Trump arrived in Beijing on May 13, 2026 (Day 75) for a two-day summit with President Xi Jinping, accompanied by Secretary of State Rubio, Secretary of Defense Hegseth, Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang. While trade is the nominal agenda, Iran is expected to dominate discussions — Trump told reporters he and Xi will have a 'long talk' about Iran. The Beijing summit represents the most significant diplomatic inflection point of the conflict: the US has sought to leverage China as a pressure channel on Tehran, while China has simultaneously provided Iran with an economic lifeline (Chinese companies sanctioned by the US on May 11–12 for Iranian oil purchases) and called for restraint. The China 'blocking rule' — invoked for the first time in response to US sanctions on Chinese entities helping Iran — creates a direct complication for the summit talks. No major US military decisions regarding Iran were expected before Trump's return from Beijing, making the summit effectively a pause in the conflict's escalatory trajectory. Analysts noted that Trump's willingness to travel to China while simultaneously considering combat resumption signals either supreme confidence in Beijing's leverage over Tehran — or a recognition that military options alone are insufficient to resolve the deadlock.