China Officially Confirms Trump State Visit to Beijing May 13–15 — Xi-Trump Summit to Cover Iran War, Trade Truce, Taiwan, Rare Earths

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially announced on May 11, 2026 that 'At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump of the United States of America will pay a state visit to China from May 13 to 15' — confirming Trump's first visit to China and the first US presidential visit in nearly nine years. The trip had been delayed from an originally planned early April date due to the active US-Iran war. The confirmed itinerary included a welcome ceremony, bilateral meetings with President Xi Jinping on May 14, a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a state banquet, and bilateral tea and a working lunch before Trump's departure on May 15. Key agenda items confirmed by multiple sources: (1) Iran war and Strait of Hormuz reopening — both the US and China want the strait reopened, as a fifth of global oil and gas previously transited it and the blockade has severely disrupted Chinese energy imports; (2) extension of the US-China trade truce reached in South Korea in late 2025, which had rolled back export controls including on rare earth shipments vital for US defense manufacturing, semiconductors, and consumer electronics; (3) Taiwan; and (4) the case of Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, which was reportedly on the US side's agenda. The Bloomberg headline on May 11 was 'China Confirms Xi-Trump Summit After Delay Linked to Iran War.' The Washington Post noted that Xi was 'confident in China's power' and described both leaders approaching the summit from positions of strength. The timing was geopolitically significant: Trump was simultaneously rejecting Iran's counter-proposal and dealing with the expiration of the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire — making the Beijing summit a pivotal moment in global diplomacy.