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For Seoul, what the leaders of the great superpowers left unsaid in Beijing may matter more than what they agreed on.
U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a welcome ceremony with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, May 14, 2026.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a bilateral summit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. It was Trump’s first visit to China since 2017. It was also the first time since 2001 that a U.S. president has visited China and not stopped in the capital of at least one U.S. ally in the region, whether Japan, South Korea, or Australia.
The two sides agreed on the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, and Beijing reaffirmed its hawkish stance on Taiwan. By comparison, neither Trump nor Xi made any public mention of North Korea, implying that Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons are no longer a pressing agenda item for Washington and Beijing.
