Trump postpones trip to Beijing as Iran war delays China reset
World
"We are resetting the meeting," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We're working with China. They were fine with it." The White House did not specify a date
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was postponing a highly anticipated trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the war with Iran upends US foreign policy and delays an effort to ease tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
"We are resetting the meeting," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We're working with China. They were fine with it."
Trump had been set to travel to Beijing from March 31 to April 2 for the first trip there of his 14-month-old second term. The trip will now take place in "about five or six weeks," Trump said. The White House did not specify a date.
“China and the US remain in communication on President Trump’s visit to China, including the dates," said a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington. "I have nothing to add at the moment.”
The postponed visit heightens uncertainty for markets and diplomacy alike, as the war with Iran has driven oil prices higher, threatened shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and sharpened investor focus on energy security.
The delay will also sideline talks to ease frictions between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan, tariffs, computer chips, illegal drugs, rare earths and agriculture.
Trump’s campaign in Iran has unleashed a wave of military and economic consequences and commanded attention from across his administration.
LAVISH STATE VISIT AT ODDS WITH US ECONOMIC STRUGGLES
The image of Trump on a lavish state visit was increasingly seen at odds with a struggling US economy and the return of American service members killed in the Middle East, said a person briefed on planning for the Beijing meetings.
Iran has responded to joint US-Israeli attacks by threatening, opens new tab to fire on vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump's request for assistance from other countries so far has largely been rebuffed. China, which imported around 12 million barrels of oil daily in the first two months of 2026, the most in the world, has not directly responded to his request.
Lin Jian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said earlier on Tuesday that it would be "misguided" to describe the trip as being delayed due to a dispute over the strait.
Beijing never officially announced dates for Trump's visit and normally does not detail Xi's schedule more than a few days in advance.
Trump last met Xi in October in South Korea. He last travelled to China in 2017.
Preparations for the upcoming meeting included talks this week in Paris between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
Those talks focused on potential additional purchases of US agricultural goods including poultry, beef and non-soybean row crops. They also discussed increasing the flow of rare earth minerals largely controlled by China and new approaches to manage trade and investment between the countries, according to people familiar with the talks.
