What’s at Stake During the Trump-XI Summit

In the News
WGN News
Raymond C. Kuo

"The United States needs China to some extent more than China needs us," Council Marshall M. Bouton Senior Fellow for Asia Studies Raymond Kuo tells WGN's The Point.

Raymond Kuo at WGN studios US Foreign Policy

At Trump-Xi Summit, a Chance to Set the Terms on Taiwan

Analysis
by Coauthors

The Beijing meeting gives the United States an opportunity to push back on a Chinese narrative that worsens the bargaining positions of both Washington and Taipei.

 In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te speaks during a press conference on "Taiwan-U.S. Economic Prosperity Partnership" in Taipei, Taiwan on Feb. 3, 2026.
Taiwan Presidential Office via AP
US Foreign Policy

China Never Promised a Peaceful Resolution of the Taiwan Issue

In the News
The National Interest
Paul Heer

"Beijing is not looking for an opportunity or an excuse to attack Taiwan. On the contrary, it is still looking to Washington and Tokyo for reasons not to do so," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Paul Heer writes for The National Interest.

China's President Xi Jinping attends a welcoming ceremony for Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
Maxim Shemetov / AP
Global Politics

Will China Dominate the Future?

Analysis
by Evan Medeiros

Trump and Xi meet this week with vastly different goals and theories about where the world is going.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, center front, attends the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 4, 2024.
Tatan Syuflana / AP
Global Politics

US-Iran Tensions Flare Ahead of Trump-Xi Meeting

In the News
Bloomberg
Leslie Vinjamuri

"The sort of immediate and urgent crisis is Iran, and it's not the nuclear program, it's the strait," Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri tells Bloomberg. "He will be seeking to see whether China will do anything to help unlock that."

Leslie Vinjamuri on Bloomberg News US Foreign Policy

Bloomberg Surveillance: US and Iran Wrangle Over Terms

In the News
Bloomberg Surveillance Podcast
Leslie Vinjamuri

"I think for the US president, the number one thing is really the Strait [of Hormuz], not the nuclear issue," said Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri while discussing the stalled peace talks between the US and Iran on the Bloomberg Surveillance Podcast.

President Trump points at reporters during a news conference at the White House on April 6, 2026.
Mark Schiefelbein / AP
US Foreign Policy

What the Trump-Xi Summit Could Mean for US-China Relations

Analysis
by Raymond C. Kuo

From trade to Taiwan, the two leaders are set to discuss a range of thorny issues this week in Beijing.

President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019.
Susan Walsh / AP
Global Politics

What a Fragmented ASEAN Means for US-China Competition

Analysis
by Raymond C. Kuo

The Iran war’s ripple effects risk obscuring festering divisions within the Southeast Asian bloc—most notably its inability to develop a region-wide approach to Washington and Beijing.

A group photo during the opening ceremony of the 48th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings in Cebu, Philippines on Friday, May 8, 2026.
Aaron Favila / AP
Global Politics

As Adversaries Integrate, US Partners Bypass Washington

In the News
War on the Rocks
Ariane Tabatabai

"Given deepening coordination among adversaries, increased cooperation among US partners is a positive development," the Council's Ariane Tabatabai writes for War on the Rocks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks with the media at a meeting of the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia on May 4, 2026.
Anthony Pizzoferrato / AP
Global Politics

Could This Peace Deal Be the Real Deal for Iran?

In the News
Fox 32 Chicago
Leslie Vinjamuri

"I think all parties would like to see some regular traffic through the strait," Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri says. "The problem is that even if we get there, Iran is still going to have this . . . this incredible tool that it can play."

Leslie Vinjamuri speaks in the Fox 32 studio US Foreign Policy