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Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged Thursday to further expand access to the Chinese market for foreign firms on the first day of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Beijing visit alongside top American business executives.
"China will continue opening up at a higher level," Xi said after the meeting at the Great Hall of the People, according to Chinese state media. "U.S. companies can expect broader opportunities in the Chinese market."
Trump arrived in Beijing accompanied by several major American business figures, including Tesla's Elon Musk, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, and Apple's Tim Cook. The delegation also included executives from BlackRock, Blackstone, Boeing, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Qualcomm, and GE Aerospace.
The visit marked the first official trip to China by a sitting U.S. president since Trump traveled to Beijing during his previous term in 2017
The Chinese leader hosted Trump and senior members of the American delegation at Beijing’s ceremonial state complex. During opening remarks, Trump said relations between Washington and Beijing were poised to become "better than ever before."
The U.S. president also highlighted what he described as a strong personal relationship between the two leaders, saying past disputes had often been resolved through direct communication.
"I would call you, and you would call me, and whenever we had a problem, we worked it out very quickly," Trump noted. "And we’re going to have a fantastic future together."
Xi, meanwhile, urged both countries to avoid rivalry and instead pursue cooperation.
The Chinese leader also raised the issue of Taiwan, describing it as "the most important issue in China-U.S. relations," according to remarks published by Chinese state media. "If mishandled, the two nations could collide or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-U.S. relationship into a highly perilous situation," Xi warned.
According to Chinese state media, business leaders expressed interest in deepening cooperation with China and expanding their operations in the country. Xi said American firms had played an important role in China’s reform and opening-up process over the years.
Before departing for Beijing, Trump had said his “very first request” to Xi would be for China to further open its economy to American businesses, with bilateral trade between the two countries totaling an estimated $414.7 billion in 2025.
After the morning negotiations, several executives offered brief but positive remarks to reporters outside the venue.
"Wonderful," Musk said when asked about the discussions. Pressed further on what had been achieved, he responded that there had been "many good things."
Huang also praised both leaders and described the summit positively. "Meetings went well," he said. "Mr. Xi and President Trump were incredible."
Ahead of the Beijing summit, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in South Korea as both sides sought to ease trade tensions that have strained relations for years.
Commenting on the negotiations, Xi Jinping described the outcome as "generally balanced and positive" and called on both governments to preserve hard-earned momentum in bilateral ties.
A possible extension of the one-year tariff suspension agreed by Trump and Xi during their previous meeting in South Korea last October was also expected to feature prominently in the next discussions during Trump's visit.
In addition to tariffs, the summit agenda includes China’s restrictions on rare earth exports and intensifying competition between Washington and Beijing in artificial intelligence development.
The Iran war was also set to feature high on the agenda, which had already forced Trump to postpone the trip from March, as the U.S. president said before departing for Beijing that he expected a "long talk" with Xi about Iran.
China remains the largest buyer of Iranian oil despite U.S. sanctions, though Trump insisted that "I don’t think we need any help" from Beijing.
For his part Trump expressed optimism about the future of U.S.-China relations, telling Chinese President Xi Jinping that ties between the two countries are poised to become “better than ever before.”
“It’s an honor to be with you. It’s an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before,” Trump said during a meeting with Xi in Beijing.
Trump said he was “particularly impressed” by the children attending the ceremony.
“They were happy, they were beautiful … Those children were amazing,” he said.
The visit marks the first official trip to China by a sitting U.S. president since Trump visited Beijing in 2017 during his first term.
“We’ve had a fantastic relationship. We’ve gotten along when there were difficulties, we worked it out,” Trump said.
The U.S. president repeatedly highlighted what he described as a strong personal relationship with Xi.
“I would call you, and you would call me, and whenever we had a problem, people don’t know, whenever we had a problem, we worked it out very quickly,” Trump said.
“And we’re going to have a fantastic future together,” he added.
Trump also praised Xi’s leadership and China’s development.
“I have such respect for China, the job you’ve done. You’re a great leader,” he said. “Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it’s true.”
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