Trump set to meet with Xi in Beijing as war, inflation weigh on his presidency

President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday for a state visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a restless moment for a world worried about war trade and artificial intelligence Were the two superpowers Trump told reporters as he departed the White House on Tuesday Were the strongest nation on Earth in terms of military Chinas considered secondWhile Trump likes to project a sense of strength the state visit occurs at a delicate moment for his presidency as his popularity at home has been weighed down by the US and Israels war with Iran and rising inflation as a consequence of that conflict The president is seeking a win by signing deals with China to buy more American food and aircraft saying hell be talking with Xi about trade more than anything elseThe Trump administration hopes to begin the process of establishing a Board of Trade with China to address differences between the countries The board could help prevent the trade war ignited last year afterTrumps tariff hikes an action China countered through its control of rare earth minerals That led to a oneyear truce last OctoberBut Trump comes to Beijing at a time when Iran continues to dominate his domestic agenda The war has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz stranding oil and natural gas tankers and causing energy prices to spike to levels that could sabotage global economic growthThe US president declared that Xi didnt need to assist in resolving the conflict even though Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Beijing last week We have a lot of things to discuss I wouldnt say Iran is one of them to be honest with you because we have Iran very much under control Trump told reporters TuesdayTaiwan and trade are high on the agendaThe status of Taiwan also appears to be a major topic as China is displeased with US plans to sell weapons to the selfgoverning island that the Chinese government claims as part of its own territoryTrump told reporters Monday that he would be discussing with Xi an USD 11 billion weapons package for Taiwan that the US administration authorised in December but has not yet begun fulfillingThe US leader has demonstrated greater ambivalence toward Taiwan an approach thats raising questions about whether Trump could be open to dialling back support for the island democracyAt the same time Taiwan as the worlds leading chipmaker has become essential for the development of AI with the US importing more goods so far this year from Taiwan than China Trump has sought to use Bidenera programs and his own deals to bring more chipmaking to AmericaTrump says relationship with Xi is on solid footingBut Trump was already portraying the trip as a success before he left White House grounds He openly mused about Xis planned reciprocal visit to the US lamenting that the ballroom under construction would not be completed in timeWere going to have a great relationship for many many decades to come Trump said of the US and China As you know President Xi will be coming here toward the end of the year So that would be exciting I only wish we had the ballroom finishedTrump said he had spoken with the Chinese leader and the meeting would be positive as he embarked with a coterie of aides CEOs and family members He will arrive in China on Wednesday evening and after a ceremonial greeting go to his hotel He will attend a state banquet Thursday and have a working lunch with Xi on Friday before returning to the USDespite Trumps outward confidence China appears to be entering the meeting from a much stronger place said Scott Kennedy a senior adviser on Chinese business and economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies a Washington think tankChina would like to reduce tech restrictions on accessing computer chips and find ways to reduce tariffs among other goals But even if they dont get much on any of those things as long as theres not a blowup in the meeting and President Trump doesnt go away and look to reescalate China basically comes out stronger Kennedy saidTrump wants a threeway nuclear arms dealTrump also intends to raise the idea of the US China and Russia signing a pact that would set limits on the nuclear weapons each nation keeps in its arsenal according to a senior Trump administration official who briefed reporters ahead of the trip The official spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White HouseChina has previously been cool to entering such a pact Beijings arsenal according to Pentagon estimates exceeds more than 600 operational nuclear warheads and is far from parity with the US and Russia which each are estimated to have more than 5000 nuclear warheadsThe last nuclear arms pact known as the New START treaty between Russia and the United States expired in February removing any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a halfcenturyAs the treaty was set to expire Trump rejected a call by Russia to extend the twocountry deal for another year and called for a new improved and modernized deal that includes China The Pentagon estimates China has more than 600 operational nuclear warheads and will have over 1000 by 2030This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever