Trump hails China trade deals after high-stakes Beijing summit

President Donald Trump left Beijing with a fresh set of trade promises, but the summit delivered no clear shift on the issues that matter most to Washington: tariffs, Taiwan and China’s broader economic rules.

Trump said China agreed to buy American planes and agricultural goods, including “billions of dollars of soybeans” from U.S. farmers, and the White House described the talks as “good.” He called the trip an “incredible visit” and said he and Xi Jinping made “fantastic trade deals.” Yet analysts said the public announcements were short on detail and did not amount to a breakthrough.

Trump landed in Beijing on Wednesday evening local time and met Xi on Thursday before a final bilateral meeting Friday morning at Zhongnanhai, China’s leadership compound. The two leaders had tea, walked in the gardens and shared lunch before Trump departed for Washington later Friday. The summit came as his presidency was weighed by the war with Iran, uncertainty about the economy and renewed friction over trade and Taiwan.

The clearest commercial headline involved Boeing. Trump said China could buy at least 200 Boeing aircraft, with a possible eventual total of 750, but investors were not impressed. Boeing shares fell 3.8% on Friday, a sign that Wall Street is still waiting for signed contracts, delivery schedules and financing terms rather than broad promises. U.S. officials also said the leaders discussed expanding market access for American businesses in China and increasing Chinese investment, but the details remained scant.

Even as Trump touted trade, the meeting left the core strategic disputes unresolved. Trump said he and Xi did not discuss tariffs, despite the trade war that dominated U.S.-China relations in 2025. Taiwan remained a major flashpoint after Xi reportedly warned that mishandling the island could lead to “clashes and even conflicts.” The White House also said both sides shared a desire to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, linking the Beijing talks to a wider security crisis stretching from East Asia to the Persian Gulf.

The optics were carefully staged, with business leaders including Elon Musk and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang traveling with Trump, underscoring the economic stakes of the trip. Trump also invited Xi and his wife to the White House for a reciprocal visit on Sept. 24. For now, the summit looks less like a reset than a narrowly transactional pause, with big political tensions still intact.