Hopes for Xi-Trump summit fade amid Beijing’s tough moves and rising tensions
Just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump praised “progress” in negotiations with China, both sides are now racing to rescue a planned Xi-Trump summit as tensions spike over trade and technology.
Analysts warn that China’s increasingly assertive stance and Washington’s hardening rhetoric have dampened prospects for a breakthrough, with any potential deal likely limited to a handful of issues, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
“China believes negotiations alone are insufficient and that effective countermeasures against the United States are necessary,” said Wu Xinbo, director of the American Studies Center at Fudan University.
At the heart of the renewed friction are China’s sweeping restrictions on rare earth exports, introduced earlier this month in retaliation for new U.S. trade barriers. The move caught U.S. officials off guard and has sparked fears of a wider tit-for-tat economic escalation.
China, which refines over 90% of the world’s rare earths, has significantly broadened its export control powers, signaling an intent to leverage its dominance in critical supply chains. Analysts say Beijing’s new rules mirror U.S. efforts to curb semiconductor exports to China.
“The language in China’s new controls is surprisingly explicit,” said Cory Combs, an analyst at Trivium China. “It directly targets chip-related technologies and expands Beijing’s reach beyond its borders.”
The Trump administration has accused China of waging an “economic war,” with Trump warning the summit could be canceled if tensions continue to rise. U.S. officials have reportedly reached out to American companies to assess the potential fallout from Beijing’s measures.
The latest flare-up threatens to derail months of diplomatic groundwork and a fragile $660 billion trade relationship. It also marks a sharp reversal from Trump’s optimistic remarks in September, when he praised cooperation on trade, TikTok, fentanyl, and the Ukraine war following talks in Madrid and a call with Xi.
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