Live updates: Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold talks at high-stakes summit in Beijing

Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, marking his first visit to China since 2017. The leaders opened their bilateral meeting with remarks emphasizing partnership over rivalry, though trade remained the primary focus of discussions, as Trump previously stated. Closed-door talks addressed trade tensions, the conflict in Iran, and Taiwan—a highly sensitive issue where Beijing claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung reassured that U.S. policy toward the island would remain unchanged but warned of potential ‘surprises’ amid pressure from China." "Families of detained Americans, including Nelson Wells Jr., Dawn Michelle Hunt, Mark Swidan, and Kai Li, expressed hope for progress in their cases during the summit. The U.S. State Department considers Swidan and Li ‘wrongfully detained,’ while Trump also raised the case of Ezra Jin, a Chinese pastor arrested in October for leading an underground church network. Jin’s daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, described his detention as part of a broader crackdown on religious freedom in China." "Trump’s delegation included top U.S. CEOs like Elon Musk, Tim Cook of Apple, and Larry Fink of BlackRock, signaling economic priorities in the discussions. Xi referenced the ‘Thucydides Trap’—a historical theory about inevitable conflict between rising and established powers—to frame U.S.-China relations. The summit follows years of strained ties, with Taiwan and trade disputes looming as critical flashpoints for both nations.