The White House said President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in Beijing on May 14-15, confirming a long-anticipated summit that had been pushed back because of the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the dates at a briefing and said the meeting will now proceed in the Chinese capital.
Beijing meeting confirmed as White House outlines return visit
Leavitt said Xi understood why the original schedule had to be delayed. She also disclosed that Xi will make a return visit to Washington after the Beijing summit. According to the White House, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will host Xi and Peng Liyuan at the White House, though no exact date has been released and the administration said details will be announced later this year.
Prediction markets reacted quickly to the update. Data from Polymarket showed the probability of Trump traveling to China before the end of May rising to 84%. That figure reflects trader expectations around the trip, while the White House itself did not provide a detailed agenda for the talks.
Markets focus on the signal as agenda remains unclear
No official topic list has been published so far. The source material says tensions between the two sides have built up around tariffs, technology export controls and the Taiwan issue, giving the summit weight well beyond a routine diplomatic meeting. For markets, the confirmation of the timetable is being read as a near-term de-risking signal, at least before the leaders sit down in Beijing.
Past meetings between US and Chinese leaders have often moved financial markets. The source points to the 2019 G20 Trump-Xi meeting, when a temporary trade truce was followed by gains in both the S&P 500 and Bitcoin. For now, traders are waiting to see whether the Beijing summit produces any clearer policy direction.