Suranjana Tewari
Asia Business Correspondent

Thursday's summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping was heavy on ceremony but light on concrete results.

Both sides pointed to a continuity of the trade truce struck last October, under which Washington paused steep tariff hikes while Beijing eased restrictions on rare earth exports.

The White House says both leaders agreed to establish a new "Board of Trade" - a mechanism that could ease future trade ties, though US officials have cautioned it is far from operational.

Beijing also signalled a willingness to buy American agricultural goods and energy products, but no specifics were announced.

Xi said recent trade talks in South Korea had made "progress," while warning that Taiwan was "the most important issue in China-US relations" - one that could push the two countries towards "a highly perilous situation".

The US called the meeting "highly productive" while Trump called it "the biggest summit ever" and promised "a fantastic future together."

Largely warm words between the two sides, and yet neither a trade deal nor any business agreements were announced.

There were multiple roadblocks in Beijing today, but that didn't stop people waiting and scrambling for a glimpse of Donald Trump's motorcade as it travelled across the city.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump is in Beijing to meet with China's leader Xi Jinping, in his first visit to the country since 2017.

The BBC's Laura Bicker explains why the US president is visiting, what the two superpowers might discuss, and what they are aiming to achieve.

Peter Hoskins
Business reporter, Singapore

Among those spotted at tonight's banquet are Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Jensen Huang, boss of AI chip giant Nvidia.

But when the White House previously shared a list of top US business leaders who would go to China with Trump, Huang was not on it.

His absence was noteworthy as Nvidia's technology is a major focus of the rivalry between the US and China.

Huang also serves on Trump's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, alongside other business leaders including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Oracle boss Larry Ellison.

It is understood that when the president saw media coverage about Huang's absence, he called Huang on Tuesday and invited him on the trip.

"Jensen is attending the summit at the invitation of President Trump to support America and the administration's goals," a Nvidia spokesperson told the BBC.

"In actuality, Jensen is currently on Air Force One and, unless I ask him to leave, which is highly unlikely, CNBC's reporting is incorrect or, as they say in politics, FAKE NEWS!", Trump posted on social media.

We've just had a look at the menu for tonight's state banquet.

Guests will have hors d’oeuvres to begin, followed by a main course consisting of:

• Lobster in tomato soup
• Crispy beef ribs
• Beijing roast duck
• Stewed seasonal vegetables
• Slow-cooked salmon in mustard sauce
• Pan-fried pork bun

And for dessert:

• Trumpet shell-shaped pastry
• Tiramisu
• Fruits and ice cream

Image source, Getty Images

As the state banquet gets underway, here are some pictures to give you a sense of the flavour inside the room.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

China, the Iran whisperer?published at 11:51 BST 14 May

11:51 BST 14 May

Anthony Zurcher and Laura Bicker

Image source, Iranian Foreign Ministry/Anadolu via Getty Images

The visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Beijing last week seemed designed to show the kind of hold and influence China has in the Middle East.

The US was watching closely. "I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told," said Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "And that is that what you are doing in the Strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You're the bad guy in this."

"I think if we're going to bring Iran back to the negotiating table in an enduring way, I think that the United States recognises that China is going to play some role," says Ali Wyne, Senior Research and Advocacy Advisor for US-China relations at International Crisis Group.

Trump, for his part, has appeared unbothered by China's close relationship with Tehran. While the US recently sanctioned a China-based refinery for transporting Iranian oil, the president last week downplayed any Chinese support for Iran during the conflict.

Speaking to CNBC on the sidelines of the US president's visit, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells CNBC in a pre-recorded interview that he believes China will leverage Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz.

"I think they're going to do what they can," Bessent says.

"China, it's very much in their interest to get the Strait reopened, and I think they will be working behind the scenes, to the extent anyone has any say over the Iranian leadership."

Separately, Bessent adds he believes Beijing will soon announce a large order of Boeing aircraft, and says the two sides are discussing improved trade relations, including energy exports.

Image source, Getty Images

Trump closed his speech with an invitation to Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, to visit the White House on 24 September.

Trump is now speaking, saying he received a "magnificent welcome like no other".

He says that he and Xi had productive conversations earlier today, with a "cherished" opportunity to discuss many things.

"It was a great honour to be with you," he said.

China-US relations are the most important bilateral relations in the world, Xi says.

Their relations concern the well-being of the two countries of 1.7 billion population, and the interests of over 8 billion people in the world, he added.

The Chinese president closed his speech with a toast to the development and future of the two countries.

"Cheers," he said, raising his glass.

Image source, Getty Images

Calling it a "historic visit", Xi says "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" and "Make America great again" can go hand in hand.

Image source, Reuters

Xi has just started his speech, sending his warm welcome to President Trump and the US delegation on behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese people.

We'll bring you more updates as he continues to speak.

Xi and Trump have arrived in the room. Everyone has stood to welcome them.

We are minutes away from the welcoming banquet kicking off.

On the live stream, we can see officials and members of the US delegation standing around in the banquet hall talking to each other.

Pete Hegseth, Stephen Miller and Tim Cook of Apple are among them. Elon Musk is already seated, with some guests approaching him for photos.

The room is decorated in a Chinese style, featuring a traditional gate on one side, along with table settings inspired by classical Chinese architecture.

Image source, US network pool

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent, reporting from Beijing

We are now set up in the banquet hall - known as the Golden Room - in the Great Hall of the People as we await the leaders.

Below the chandeliers and Chinese lanterns there’s a huge orange banner at the centre of the hall, giving the effect of a sunlit sky at dusk.

It has the US and China flags above the words “WELCOMING BANQUET”.

Some of the US delegation are here, standing in small groups towards the centre of the room.

Your pooler can see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. In another knot of people I can see Secretary of State Marco Rubio talking with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and two other people that I can’t make out from our position.

Trump has just arrived back at the Great Hall of the People for a state banquet, Chinese state media reports.

We'll bring you more updates as we get them - stick with us.

Image source, API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

With Trump in Beijing, will he stop over for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un?

It appears that there have been no preparations for such a meeting, but the possibility could not be ruled out, an unnamed South Korean foreign ministry official told South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Trump and Kim last met in 2019 in the Demilitarised Zone separating the two Koreas. That meeting appeared to have been hastily cobbled together at the last minute, after Trump posted on Twitter (now known as X) that he could meet Kim "just to shake his hand and say Hello".

Since then, Trump has signalled interest in seeing the North Korean leader again - a desire he made again last October, ahead of his trip to South Korea.

But while Kim has said that he has a "good memory" of Trump, he also insisted that Pyongyang would only resume talks if Washington stopped insisting on its denuclearisation.

Image source, Reuters

The Kremlin has just announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China very soon, according to Russia-backed broadcaster RT.

No date has been given for the visit, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that all the preperations have been completed.

Putin's last visit to China was September 2025, when he attended Beijing's grand military parade and a summit.Russian media previously reported that the visit could happen as soon as next week.

Image source, POOL / AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping had a "good meeting", according to a readout issued by the White House.

The two sides "discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation", including expanding US firms' access to the Chinese market and Chinese investment in US industries, said the statement - adding that leaders from some of the largest US companies joined part of the meeting.

They also talked about the importance of ending the flow of fentanyl precursors into the US..

We earlier reported that China's foreign ministry statement made little mention of the Iran war. According to the White House statement, however, "both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon".

The US statement also said "the two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy".

During the talks, President Xi "expressed interest" in buying more American oil to reduce China's dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, the White House statement said.