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Trump arrived in Beijing last night, beginning a 2-night, 3-day state visit.
Summit after welcome ceremony at Great Hall of the People... Visit to Temple of Heaven Park, state dinner.
Also predicted to be a gauge for the transition from a US-centric 'unipolar' international order to a bipolar system.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a summit in Beijing, China, on the morning of the 14th (local time).
President Trump arrived in Beijing the previous night, commencing his 2-night, 3-day state visit.
The leaders of both countries are scheduled to hold an official welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing around 10 AM today, followed immediately by a summit.
After the summit, they will jointly visit Beijing's Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan, an altar where emperors offered sacrifices to heaven) Park, and attend a state dinner in the evening.
This is the first direct meeting between President Trump and President Xi in approximately six months since their encounter in Busan during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in October last year.
Their meeting in Beijing is the first in nine years since President Trump's first term in 2017.
At today's summit, which draws global attention, key bilateral issues and international matters such as tariffs and trade disputes, the situation in Iran, the Taiwan issue, and high-tech controls are expected to be widely discussed.
The two countries, after clashing over mutual high tariffs and export controls, are now in a 'truce' and agree on the necessity of stable relations amidst increasing global economic uncertainty, making it noteworthy whether they can find a certain level of common ground.
For President Trump, tangible results such as soybean, beef, and Boeing aircraft exports are needed ahead of the November midterm elections, and President Xi is also expected to focus on creating a favorable negotiating environment in the strategic competition with the United States.
The Middle East issue is highly likely to be one of the key agendas of this summit.
Amid ongoing tensions between the US and Iran, the Iranian nuclear issue and the tense situation in the Strait of Hormuz are expected to be intensely discussed.
President Trump is expected to ask President Xi for an active mediating role regarding the Iran issue, and China is also emphasizing its role as a mediator in Middle Eastern affairs, drawing attention to what message both sides will deliver.
On the other hand, the Taiwan issue is one of the areas where the differences in position between the two countries are most sharply evident.
The United States is expanding arms sales and security cooperation with Taiwan, while China strongly opposes this, defining it as an 'infringement of core interests.'
Before his visit to China, President Trump stated that he would raise the issue of US arms sales to Taiwan in his meeting with President Xi, but China reiterated its opposition to this.
Along with this, global issues such as artificial intelligence (AI) safety, advanced technology norms, and climate change response are also of interest as to whether they will be on the discussion table.
President Trump also plans to raise the issue of the imprisonment of Hong Kong anti-China journalist Jimmy Lai, but China is pushing back, calling it an internal affair.
On the 15th, the last day of President Trump's visit to China, the two leaders are scheduled to continue further discussions through a small tea meeting and a luncheon.
Afterward, President Trump will conclude his 2-night, 3-day visit to China and depart for home.
Among Chinese experts, there is also an assessment that this summit could be a watershed moment for gauging the possibility of a transition from the existing US-centric 'unipolar' international order to a US-China bipolar system.
If President Trump expands strategic cooperation with China, it is predicted that China's influence in the Asian region will grow further, complicating the diplomatic calculations of regional countries such as South Korea.
Zheng Yongnian, Dean of the School of Public Policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen Campus, said in a recent interview, "(US-China relations) have reached a very important point," and added, "There is also a view within the United States that compares President Trump's current visit to China with former US President Richard Nixon's visit, which brought about a US-China détente."
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