Trump and Xi hold talks but no trade deal agreed

It was a day heavy with symbolism in Beijing, marked by choreographed ceremonies and carefully staged optics, but there was no sweeping trade breakthrough or major business agreements.

US President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday for more than two hours of talks, describing the US-China relationship as "the world's most consequential economic relationship".

The White House describedthe meeting as "highly productive". Trump, speaking at the Great Hall of the People, called it potentially "the biggest summit ever".

President Xi said previous trade negotiations between the two countries in South Korea had delivered "progress", according to China's foreign ministry, but he paired that with a stark warning on Taiwan, saying: "If mishandled, the two nations could collide or even come into conflict."

This was a visit where optics have mattered as much as outcomes, with one of the most closely watched moments coming as Air Force One touched down in Beijing.

Elon Musk stepped off the presidential aircraft ahead of senior cabinet officials including Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer - on a trip that was always going to be defined by trade.

Musk and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang also remained close to Trump during the welcome ceremony.

The symbolism was hard to miss. Musk and Huang represent some of the most sensitive pressure points in the US-China economic relationship: electric vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor microchips.

Both are also exposed to China. Tesla depends heavily on its Shanghai gigafactory and Chinese consumers, while Nvidia's chips sit at the centre of the global AI race and US export controls designed to limit China's access to advanced computing.

Huang's presence was particularly notable given he was not on the original delegation list, fuelling speculation that AI and chip access may feature more centrally in discussions than previously expected.

Despite the choreography, there was no major trade deal or structural agreement.

Both sides instead pointed to continuity in the October trade truce, under which Washington suspended steep tariff increases on Chinese goods while Beijing eased back from restricting rare earth exports.

The White House said both leaders agreed to establish a "Board of Trade" - a mechanism to manage the relationship without having to reopen tariff negotiations.

US officials have cautioned, however, that there is a lot of work to be done before it is fully operational.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expected "large Boeing orders" to be announced during the visit, alongside broader Chinese purchases of US energy and agricultural goods.

According to the White House, the talks included discussion of expanding Chinese market access for US companies and increasing Chinese investment into US industries.