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Trump-Xi summit live: US president preparing to meet China’s leader with trade, Taiwan and the Iran war set to dominate talks | Donald Trump
Key events
Xi Jinping has walked down stairs in Tinanman Square as a US motorcade drives towards the area.
US officials including secretary of state Marco Rubio and defence secretary Pete Hegseth are also gathering.
From Beijing we’re seeing live images of an honour guard marching into position before a welcome ceremony for Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People – due to start in minutes .
Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images
During the summit, Donald Trump also intends to raise the idea of the US, China and Russia signing a pact that would set limits on the nuclear weapons each nation keeps in its arsenal, according to a senior Trump administration official who spoke anonymously in briefing reporters ahead of the trip.
China has previously been cool to entering such a pact. Beijing’s arsenal, according to Pentagon estimates, exceeds more than 600 operational nuclear warheads and is far from parity with the US and Russia, which each are estimated to have more than 5,000 nuclear warheads.
The last nuclear arms pact between Russia and the US – known as the New Start treaty – expired in February. As it was set to expire, Trump rejected a call by Russia to extend the two-country deal for another year and called for “a new, improved and modernised” deal that includes China.
Rubio says US will urge Beijing to be more ‘active’ in resolving Iran war – report
Marco Rubio says American officials will try to persuade China to take a more “active role” in resolving the conflict in Iran, Fox News is reporting.
The US secretary of state told the network from aboard Air Force One while en route to China that the US had made its case to Beijing on why it should engage in efforts to settle simmering tensions with Iran.
“It’s in their interest to resolve this,” Rubio said.
We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf.”
Among the big tech leaders who (eventually) flew to China with Trump on Air Force One is Jensen Huang, the president and CEO of Nvidia.
Trump was reportedly picked up Huang in Alaska en route to the Beijing summit, while the presidential plane was refuelling. Trump asked Huang at the last minute to join the trip, Reuters quoted a source as saying. Huang had not figured on an initial list of travelling executives provided by the White House.
Various media outlets had reported on Huang’s apparent omission after the plane had departed for Alaska and Beijing. Trump later posted from Air Force One saying Huang was onboard and he denied the CEO had not been invited.
The Nvidia boss is close to Trump, but in April Huang criticised the US’s limitations on chip sales to China, saying he didn’t want a “loser mentality” to cost the US its edge in AI. The sale of US semiconductors to China is believed to be a key agenda item for the summit.
Here are some photos of US snipers and other security forces watching over Air Force One while it refuelled on Tuesday at Joint Base Elmendorf in Anchorage, Alaska.
Amy Hawkins
Donald Trump will drive through a Chinese capital that is smoggier than it was on his last visit in 2017, when the authorities launched emergency measures to clear the skies of pollution days before his first state visit to Beijing.
Factories were ordered to halt production and heavily polluting cars were banned from the roads in the days ahead of the US president’s trip nearly a decade ago, an era in which China had declared war on air pollution and made special efforts to clear the skies ahead of important political events such as visiting dignitaries and the Beijing Olympics.
No such efforts have been made this year. The air quality index in the capital is over 150 today, well over the World Health Organization’s guidelines for healthy air, shrouding the city in a greyish smog full of pollutants that are harmful to human health.
In recent years China’s fight against air pollution has slowed. That is partly because huge improvements have already been made: last year average levels of PM2.5 in Beijing – the most harmful particulate in air pollution – dropped to below 30 for the first time since records began more than a decade ago.
But heavily polluted skies remain a fairly common occurrence. And a visit from the US president is no longer a reason to clear them.
Trump is soon to kick off the busiest part of his China trip.
He arrived in Beijing late on Wednesday but on Thursday the summit begins in earnest.
Xi Jinping will officially welcome the US president during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People reportedly beginning at 10am local time – just under 45 minutes away – followed by bilateral talks.
Then there’s some cultural programming – a visit to the Temple of Heaven – before a state banquet capping the day.
This trip is expected to be long on pageantry and symbolism, as the Associated Press reports, but neither side has yet offered concrete details on what Trump or Xi will come away with.
David Smith
I’m now sitting in the press filing centre at the China World Hotel in Beijing. Two American flags and a wooden lectern bearing a “United States embassy Beijing” seal stand on a black podium against a black curtain beneath a giant crystal chandelier.
There are TVs on either side of the podium: one showing CNN, the other Fox News. Sadly, that is as close as many reporters will get to seeing Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in action today.
And there is no guarantee that anyone will appear at the lectern to brief the media, who are sitting on 10 rows of desks covered with blue tablecloths.
The busiest man here today is an IT consultant from the phone and internet company AT&T, who is fielding queries from hapless journalists about VPNs trying to circumvent China’s Great Firewall.
But for western media there are creature comforts nearby. The hotel connects to a luxury mall that includes Peet’s Coffee, Starbucks, Chanel, Dior, Jimmy Choo, Gucci, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Burberry, Armani, Givenchy and Hugo Boss.
David Smith
Greetings from Beijing, where I awoke to CNN coverage of Chinese social media mocking Donald Trump and America as a fading superpower.
CNN noted that China’s tough internet censors had evidently allowed these comments to appear. But then my TV suddenly “lost signal”, which felt suspicious, though the coverage soon resumed.
Outside a lift on the 10th floor of the press hotel I bumped into Jacqui Heinrich, senior White House correspondent of the conservative Fox News channel. She had travelled with Trump on the long Air Force One flight but noted that, unusually, he did not come to the press cabin to “gaggle” with reporters.
Perhaps he was having too much fun with Elon Musk? Or maybe White House chief of staff Susie Wiles had intervened to make sure he didn’t make flip comment about Taiwan?
Trump’s arrival in Beijing – in pictures
Here are some images of Donald Trump’s welcome in China after touching down aboard Air Force One at Beijing capital international airport on Wednesday night.
The president is also travelling with a large contingent of business leaders that reportedly includes:
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Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and Space X CTO
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Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO
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Tim Cook, Apple CEO
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Kelly Ortberg, Boeing CEO
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Dina Powell McCormick, Meta president and vice chairman
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Larry Fink, Blackrock chairman and CEO
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Other banking, finance and tech executives
So who else travelled with Trump on Air Force One to China? According to a partial list provided by the White House: US secretary of state Marco Rubio, defence secretary Pete Hegseth and senior adviser Stephen Miller.
Also onboard were Eric and Lara Trump, plus an array of White House advisers, strategists, speech writers and communications executives.
Iran war and the other big questions hanging over Trump-Xi summit
One of Trump’s pressing concerns as he visits Beijing is how to find a way to reopen the strait of Hormuz, through which half of China’s crude oil passes.
China has been more insulated from the energy shock than other Asian countries, thanks to its diversified energy mix and large stockpiles. But the risk of a global recession – which the International Monetary Fund has warned is a possible outcome of the Iran war – is a bigger threat to China’s economy.
About a fifth of China’s GDP comes from exports. If the rest of the world is no longer able to spend money on goods, China will suffer.
There’s speculation Trump could use the summit to seek Beijing’s help to end the war with China-allied Iran. But the US president told reporters before departing the White House on Tuesday:
I don’t think we need any help with Iran. We’ll win it one way or the other – peacefully or otherwise.”
Trump also sought to play down divisions with Beijing, saying Xi had been “relatively good” during the crisis.
The Guardian’s senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins, has examined the biggest questions hanging over the Trump-Xi talks, which begin later today.
The Trump-Xi summit will span two days. It was originally scheduled for late March or early April but was delayed due to the Iran war.
Now that Trump is in China, here are some of the hazards the US president faces.
Welcome
Donald Trump’s state visit to China this week is the first by a US president in nearly a decade and comes amid a time of geopolitical upheaval, a Middle East war with no end in sight and a sometimes rocky relationship between the world’s two major superpowers.
Aside from discussions about Iran, Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to discuss trade and tariffs, Taiwan and AI.
Stay with us as we cover this high-stakes visit. It’s approaching 8.10am in Beijing.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
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