March 17, 2026—A high-profile meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is postponed. The original date for the meeting was for March 31-April 2.
Neither country issued new dates for the meeting through their spokespersons. A U.S. president has not visited China since November 2017 during Trump’s first term. Former President Joe Biden visited China while serving as vice president in 2011 and 2013, but not during his presidency.
The two countries—the largest economies in the world—reached a truce in October 2025, agreeing to a one-year reduction in U.S. tariffs, a suspension of China’s restrictions on rare-earth exports, controls on fentanyl production, and a promise by China to buy U.S. agricultural products, including soybeans.
Geopolitics Disruptions
The postponement comes amid a large-scale humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon, Iran, the Gaza Strip, and Syria, and instability across the region. It also comes as the war and the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupt oil markets.
Trump has asked other countries, including China, France, Australia, and the United Kingdom, for help in policing the strait, through which 20 to 25 percent of the world’s oil flows.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Monday that the decision is related to the war against Iran and not related to Trump’s request that China help police the Strait of Hormuz.
“The president wants to remain in D.C. to coordinate the war effort and that traveling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal,” Bessent said on Monday.
Bessent was in Paris meeting with his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng. In an interview Bessent posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, he said he reaffirmed stability between the two countries.
“We will be issuing a statement in the next few days reaffirming the stability in the relationship between the first and second largest economies in the world,” Bessent said.
Meanwhile, China met with diplomatic envoys from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) March 11. According to the press release Vice Foreign Minister Miao Deyu reiterated the position that “China opposes military strikes against sovereign states without UN Security Council authorization and condemns any attacks on innocent civilians and non-military targets.”
