Trump-Xi Meeting: Can US-China Form A ‘G2’ For Global Partnership? Explained

Last Updated:May 13, 2026, 17:44 IST

Trump-Xi summit has created a buzz around a new ‘G2’. Is it possible for US and China to build such a coalition?

US President Donald Trump arrives in Beijing on Wednesday (May 13) for a high-stakes, multi-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, marking the first visit to China by an American president in nearly a decade.

As the the face-to-face talks begin on Thursday morning at the Great Hall of the People, the summit has created a buzz around a new ‘G2’. Is it possible for US and China to build such a coalition?

The China summit: What Trump and Xi want

The summit occurs amid acute geopolitical tension, economic interdependencies, and a fragile tariff truce established last autumn.

The Iran war and global energy crisis has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz since February, causing global oil spikes. The US expects to press Beijing to use its deep ties and economic leverage with Tehran to reopen the shipping chokepoint and facilitate a peace agreement. Before departure, Trump publicly downplayed the need for Chinese assistance on Iran, while China remains firm on its policy of non-intervention and opposes unilateral US sanctions on Chinese firms buying Iranian oil.

Trump is traveling with a high-profile caravan of over a dozen American business leaders on Air Force One, including Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. The summit is expected to yield high-profile purchases, including a rumored landmark agreement for 500 Boeing 737 Max jets.

Discussions will explore the creation of a structured trade framework and a new board of trade to manage import-export flows, keeping the previous tariff war at bay.

Beijing will push for the rollback of US export controls that restrict Chinese access to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips and semiconductor equipment.

The US seeks to safeguard access to critical minerals as China maintains tightening export regulations over rare earths. Trump has indicated he will discuss an authorised multibillion-dollar US arms package for Taiwan directly with Xi, a move that breaks traditional diplomatic precedents of strategic ambiguity.

Washington is looking to raise the prospect of a trilateral nuclear arms control framework to include China, though Beijing holds that its current arsenal size does not warrant treaty negotiations.

Trump has confirmed intentions to explicitly raise the cases of high-profile critics currently jailed or detained under Beijing’s national security laws, including Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai.

The summit seeks to re-establish personal rapport between the two leaders through a sequence of formal and highly orchestrated cultural events across Beijing.

Is US-China G2 possible? What experts say

The formation of a formalized “G2" duopoly between the United States and China remains highly unlikely, despite President Donald Trump’s frequent rhetorical revivals of the term, according to Al Jazeera and other foreign media reports.

While the May 2026 Beijing Summit highlights an increasingly transactional, leader-to-leader framework for managing bilateral crises, fundamental geopolitical friction prevents the two superpowers from governing the global order as a joint bloc.

Here’s why:

President Trump aims to reassert U.S. pre-eminence and secure short-term trade wins. President Xi Jinping seeks equal peer recognition without submitting to Western-designed rules.

Washington’s isolationist pivots have alarmed traditional European and Indo-Pacific partners. This has triggered global anxieties about an informal U.S.-China duopoly carving up international trade.

In case of bilateral mechanisms, the US has floated the creation of a “Board of Trade" to streamline non-critical supply chains and avert future tariff wars. China, meanwhile, is securing a “win-win" baseline to stabilize its economy, while remaining highly skeptical of long-term U.S. reliability.

Ultimately, structural distrust prevents sustained cooperation. Neither superpower is ready to yield systemic dominance. The “G2" remains a tactical tool for short-term crisis management rather than a blueprint for shared global governance.

The current dynamic is less about a global partnership and more about managing active geopolitical and economic damage, say experts.

KEY FAQs

What does “G2" mean in global politics?

“G2" refers to the idea of the United States and China acting together as the world’s two dominant powers to manage major global economic and geopolitical issues.

Why is a Trump-Xi meeting important?

A meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping could influence trade, technology, tariffs, security tensions, and global market stability.

Is a US-China “G2" partnership realistic?

Experts remain divided because both countries cooperate on trade and climate issues but also compete intensely over technology, military influence, and geopolitics.

With agency inputs

News explainers Trump-Xi Meeting: Can US-China Form A ‘G2’ For Global Partnership? Explained

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