U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to discuss Iran, Taiwan, artificial intelligence and nuclear weapons as they weigh extending a critical minerals deal, according to U.S. officials previewing Trump's two-day visit to China this week, Reuters reports.
The leaders of the world's two largest economies will hold their first face-to-face talks in more than six months as they try to stabilize ties strained by trade, the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran and other areas of disagreement.
Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday, ahead of talks set to take place Thursday and Friday. It will be his first trip to China since 2017.
The U.S. and China are expected to agree to forums to facilitate mutual trade and investment, while China is expected to announce purchases related to Boeing airplanes, American agriculture and energy, the officials said.
Plans for a Board of Trade and Board of Investment may be formally announced at the meeting, but those mechanisms may need subsequent work before they can be implemented, one of the officials said.
The two countries will also discuss lengthening a truce in their trade war that allows rare earth minerals to flow from China to the U.S., though it is not yet clear if that agreement will be extended this week, that official said.
He nonetheless expressed confidence that the deal, which was struck last autumn and remains in effect, will eventually be extended.
"It doesn't expire yet," the official told reporters. "I'm confident we'll announce any potential extension at the appropriate time."
China's embassy in Washington declined to comment.
The Trump-Xi talks are also expected to veer into areas that have long been a source of U.S.-China tension, including Iran, Taiwan and nuclear arms.
China maintains ties with Iran and remains a major consumer of its oil exports. Trump has been leaning on China to use its influence to push Tehran to make a deal with Washington and end the conflict that began when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February.
The Trump administration also has pressed China on its dealings with Russia.
