As President Trump and President Xi Jinping began their high-profile summit in Beijing on Thursday, the U.S. delegation at the Great Hall of the People gave the clearest indication yet of what the current agenda is.
At the front of the reception line were President Trump’s most influential cabinet members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessant, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
In a series of impressive scenes, each of the officials, who have been persistent critics of China across a range of economic and military issues, shook hands with President Xi, as per protocol for the event.
Mr. Rubio, a fierce China hawk, was sanctioned by China in 2020 for speaking out about human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. Mr Bessent described China as an “unreliable trading partner”. And Mr Hegseth condemned China’s “destabilizing actions” in the South China Sea, calling it an urgent “warning” to the world.
Xi also shook hands with Trump’s chief of staff Stephen Miller, who has accused China of “distorting the entire global trading system” through “theft.” At Miller’s side was James Blair, his chief of staff responsible for guiding the president’s legislative agenda through Congress. Blair is now responsible for directing Trump’s political operations ahead of the midterm elections in November.
Behind Trump’s top staff was a cluster of industry leaders, many of whom wanted greater access to the Chinese market. Brian Sikes, CEO of agricultural giant Cargill, is trying to restart purchases of U.S. beef, sorghum and soybeans. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg is also hoping to receive large orders from China.
The attendance of semiconductor executives including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Micron’s Sanjay Mehrotra and Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon highlighted that Xi is likely to raise the issue of export controls put in place by the United States to block China’s access to cutting-edge technology.
The team of Chinese officials accompanying Xi to the meeting included loyalists to whom Xi has long sought support and advice.
Chief among them were Cai Qi, director of the office that manages Communist Party leadership affairs, and Vice Premier He Lifeng, who oversees economic policy. Both men have ties to President Xi going back to their early careers as local officials in eastern China. Wang Yi served as Xi’s foreign minister for more than a decade and returned to the position after his successor was mired in scandal.
The lineup of civil servants also includes lesser-known figures whose technical capabilities and experience could be valuable to Xi, such as Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
