US President Donald Trump will travel to China in May for his first summit with President Xi Jinping in eight years as the world's two largest economies intensify reciprocal trade restrictions. The meeting follows months of retaliatory tariffs, export controls, and diplomatic friction that have disrupted global supply chains.

Washington imposed 100% duties on select Chinese imports and blacklisted oil refiners for purchasing Iranian crude, freezing their US assets and barring American business ties. Beijing invoked a new anti-sanctions law authorizing countermeasures against foreign entities and directed domestic firms to disregard US restrictions on critical mineral exports.

Chinese authorities gained expanded powers to investigate foreign companies and jurisdictions deemed to undermine domestic industrial chains through discriminatory measures. Officials simultaneously advanced curbs on advanced solar panel technology exports while US agencies launched new Section 301 investigations into Chinese industrial policies, prompting immediate reciprocal probes from Beijing.

Senior trade officials concluded a video call this month describing discussions as candid and constructive, following a sixth round of negotiations in Paris that yielded no substantive breakthrough. Trump delayed the Beijing summit from March to May amid regional conflict, with both sides maintaining 90-day tariff truces on select goods while broader duties exceed 100% in multiple sectors. The White House and State Department have not announced the specific summit agenda.