Get the latest news and updates from Dawn
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump arrives in China on Wednesday for a three-day state visit that is expected to mainly focus on trade and economic ties. But, the US-Iran conflict is likely to dominate the strategic calculations of both Washington and Beijing.
The May 13–15 visit — the first by a sitting US president to China in nearly nine years — comes at a moment when the world’s two largest economies are struggling to stabilise relations after months of tariff disputes, geopolitical rivalry and growing tensions in the Middle East.
US President Trump is scheduled to hold one-on-one talks with the Chinese president, attend a state banquet and tour Beijing’s historic Temple of Heaven during the three-day visit. Yet behind the ceremonial optics lies a more urgent diplomatic objective: securing Chinese cooperation on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz crisis, which continues to disrupt global trade and energy markets.
White House press secretary described the trip as a “visit of tremendous symbolic significance,” saying the president hoped to “deliver more good deals” during his stay in Beijing.
