The Summit on the Outside
The Trump administration went to a summit in China along with Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, Scott Bessent, Jamieson Greer, Stephen Miller, Steven Cheung, and 17 CEOs of tech/finance companies such as Elon Musk (Tesla), Tim Cook (Apple), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), Jane Fraser (Citigroup), Larry Fink (Blackrock), Stephen Schwartzman (Blackstone). As well as Kelly Ortberg (Boeing), David Solomon (Goldman Sachs), and Lynn Martin (President of New York Stock Exchange).
This is the first time Trump came to China in almost nine years, and the meeting showed a remarkable change in rhetoric in US-Chinese relations.
President Xi of the People’s Republic of China stated many times during different parts of the summit that they wish the US and China would work together in a rapidly changing world, and want to expand trade and diplomatic ties.
President Trump would say likewise and repeatably state that he respects China and President Xi, and hoped to have a fantastic future with China. The banquet only magnified the show of respect and changing rhetoric between each country with both leaders complimenting each other’s country.
Trade and Taiwan
According to what President Trump said in Fox interviews and a press conference on Air Force One they spoke on trade, AI, and Iran with President Xi.
On trade the president said there was no discussions on tariffs, though the President stated the possibility of changing tariffs. The President also stated that they would give 200 Boeing jets to China in exchange for China buying $17B worth of US agricultural products. There were also talks on soybeans and US farmers, in which the President was insisting it was fine and still is for China to own farmland in the US.
They also spoke about chip manufacturers in Taiwan, and Trump seemed to want chip manufacturing to move from Taiwan to the US. When President Trump was asked by a Fox interviewer on Taiwan relating to chips, Trump stated Taiwan was a “place” and didn’t know how to define it exactly. He then stated he wouldn’t start a war if Taiwan went “independent”. Likely referring to the fact that Taiwan has not officially declared its independence, but still remains functionally independent. Furthermore the President was questioned on if China was influencing the sale of arms to Taiwan, which is still pending sale. President Trump responded with a “no”, but was still questioned about potential Chinese pressure.
This shows a shift from the tradition of the US policy that looked to provide Taiwan with defence and contain Chinese expansion. President Trump even stated that he’d like to see Taiwan and China unite together “peacefully” one day. Though the President went on to state that the US policy on Taiwan has not changed.
AI
With the inclusion of tech CEOs there were talks on AI and the future of US and China with their relationship with AI.
President Trump stated there were little talks on guardrails for AI, citing that competition could not allow for that. Though there was most likely talks, it most likely didn’t go anywhere besides the future possibility to speak on a later date on these issues more officially.
Furthermore the President stated that Chinese companies have access to the H-200, our second best AI chip, but China stated they preferred that their chips would be used by Chinese companies.
There was not much other development in talks of AI after that, with most of the things stated already there and the status quo continuing.
China losing Influence
China has recently started a new 5-year plan which would focus more on national security on their border and their economic state. This contrasts from other 5-year plans where China was focusing on expanding their global reach through the continuation of the Community of Common Destiny (CCD).
Though the CCP will continue to expand its global outreach, it is slowing it down, especially in places like the Western Hemisphere after the US now managed to capture the Venezuelan president and now threatens Cuba. The moves by the US is a part of the 2026 national security goal to focus on the Western Hemisphere and crush Chinese influence and power in the region.
China has been building infrastructure and SIGINT technology within various Latin American countries, most notably Cuba. Some of this infrastructure is deep sea ports which could be easily converted into a naval port or ship large missiles over.
The US has begun to counteract the spyware and influence, and it seems China is now conceding in the 15th 5-year plan that they won’t be able to have a strong of a presence in Latin America as it did before.
Though we can see that the US is also lessening their influence in the Indo-Pacific with the recent change of rhetoric with Taiwan, and the deficiency of Patriot missiles which have been used up in Iran.
So what is in for the future?
With the recent blockade on Cuba, as well as the recent rhetoric and national security goals changing, we can conclude that the US and China are both seeking to lessen their global reach and focus on their own hemisphere.
One reason China decided to change their national security goals is because of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border conflict, in which they are increasingly becoming more pessimistic about the region around them and allies across the globe.
With the war in Iran exhausting US resources, and the uncovered build-up of Chinese spyware with potential military infrastructure the US would need to first focus on its hemisphere as well in order to protect its own border.
With the summit and the recent actions going on in Latin America we could figure out that the relationship between China and the US has not actually changed.
This is because competition between trade, tech, and global reach is still ongoing and only escalating in regions such as Latin America and the Indo-Pacific. Spying is still a major concern between each region and the nations in which encompasses trade, tech, and military information. As President Trump stated in an interview that spying is a “double-edged sword” because the more we spy on China, the more they spy on us.
China and the US bilateral relations may seem to be better on some issues, but the primary concern to have a global reach and power is still in competition between the two towering empires and doesn’t seem like it’ll end anytime soon.
References:
Macrum, Kyle. “Decoding China’s 15th Five-Year Plan - Foreign Policy Research Institute.” Foreign Policy Research Institute, 2026, www.fpri.org/article/2026/05/decoding-chinas-15th-five-year-plan/.
“Cuba’s Power Grid Collapses and Plunges Eastern Provinces into a Major Blackout.” NPR, 14 May 2026, www.npr.org/2026/05/14/nx-s1-5822583/cuba-blackout.
Funaiole, Matthew P, et al. “China’s Intelligence Footprint in Cuba: New Evidence and Implications for U.S. Security.” Csis.org, 2024, www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-intelligence-footprint-cuba-new-evidence-and-implications-us-security.
Lazarus, Leland. Atlantic Council House Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security U.S. House of Representatives. 2025.
Caputo, Marc. “Exclusive: U.S. Eyes Attack-Drone Threat from Cuba.” Axios, 17 May 2026, www.axios.com/2026/05/17/us-military-drones-cuba.
Fox News. “BREAKING: Trump Pulls Back the Curtain on What Xi Is like behind Closed Doors.” YouTube, 14 May 2026, www.youtube.com/watch?v=in-aSeSffI4. Accessed 20 May 2026.
Fox News. “BREAKING: Trump Addresses Xi’s WARNING over Taiwan.” YouTube, 15 May 2026, www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ib2ab_kDLI. Accessed 20 May 2026.
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