El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, y el mandatario chino, Xi Jinping, se reúnen este viernes en Beijing para cerrar una cumbre bilateral centrada en comercio, inteligencia artificial, Taiwán y la guerra entre Israel e Irán, en el marco de la primera visita de Estado de un presidente estadounidense a China desde 2017.

Trump cumple una visita oficial de dos días en China y tiene previsto compartir un encuentro con té y un almuerzo con Xi antes de regresar a Estados Unidos. “Esperemos que nuestra relación con China sea más fuerte y mejor que nunca”, escribió Trump durante la madrugada del viernes en Truth Social.

La cumbre apunta a sostener la tregua comercial que ambos gobiernos alcanzaron durante su último encuentro en octubre. En esa oportunidad, Trump suspendió aranceles de tres dígitos sobre productos chinos y Beijing retrocedió en restricciones vinculadas al suministro global de tierras raras.

Xi sostuvo el jueves que las negociaciones comerciales alcanzaron “resultados equilibrados y positivos”, aunque evitó dar detalles sobre los acuerdos alcanzados entre ambas delegaciones.

El representante comercial de Estados Unidos, Jamieson Greer, declaró a Bloomberg TV que todavía no estaba decidido si la tregua comercial continuará cuando expire más adelante este año. También afirmó que ambas partes consolidaron acuerdos sobre compras chinas de productos agrícolas, carne vacuna y aeronaves de Boeing.

Greer agregó que ambos gobiernos avanzaron en mecanismos para administrar futuras relaciones comerciales bilaterales y señaló que las partes identificarán “30.000 millones de dólares en bienes no sensibles”.

Trump declaró a Fox News que China aceptó comprar “200 grandes aviones Boeing”, en lo que representaría la primera adquisición china de aviones comerciales estadounidenses en casi una década. El mandatario también afirmó que Beijing manifestó interés en adquirir petróleo y soja estadounidenses.

Las acciones de Boeing cayeron más de 4% después de los comentarios de Trump, ya que el mercado esperaba una compra de al menos 500 aeronaves.

La delegación estadounidense en Beijing incluye además a empresarios como el director ejecutivo de Tesla, Elon Musk, y el director ejecutivo de Nvidia, Jensen Huang.

El secretario del Tesoro estadounidense, Scott Bessent, dijo a CNBC que Trump y Xi discutieron la creación de “guardrails” para el uso de inteligencia artificial. “Las dos superpotencias de inteligencia artificial van a empezar a hablar”, afirmó.

La guerra entre Israel e Irán también ocupó parte central de las conversaciones. Trump aseguró a Fox News que Xi le transmitió que China no planea suministrar asistencia militar a Teherán. “Dijo que no va a entregar equipamiento militar… lo dijo con firmeza”, señaló el mandatario estadounidense.

Trump agregó además que Xi manifestó disposición para colaborar con la reapertura del estrecho de Ormuz, clave para el transporte marítimo de petróleo y productos estratégicos. “Le gustaría que se abriera el estrecho de Ormuz y dijo: ‘Si puedo ser de alguna ayuda, me gustaría ayudar’”, afirmó.

La Casa Blanca informó tras la reunión del jueves que ambos líderes coincidieron en que el estrecho de Ormuz “debe permanecer abierto para apoyar el libre flujo de energía”. Greer declaró además que “los chinos están siendo muy pragmáticos” y agregó: “No quieren quedar del lado equivocado de esto. Quieren ver paz”.

Sin embargo, el principal punto de tensión de la cumbre apareció alrededor de Taiwán. El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores chino informó que Xi advirtió a Trump durante una reunión privada de más de dos horas que un mal manejo de la cuestión taiwanesa podría empujar la relación bilateral hacia un “conflicto”.

Taiwán constituye uno de los principales focos de tensión entre Washington y Beijing. China reclama soberanía sobre la isla y mantiene abierta la posibilidad de utilizar la fuerza para tomar control del territorio. Estados Unidos sostiene por ley el compromiso de proporcionar medios de defensa a Taipei.

El secretario de Estado estadounidense, Marco Rubio, confirmó a NBC News que Taiwán formó parte de las conversaciones. “Los chinos siempre lo mencionan… nosotros siempre dejamos clara nuestra posición y pasamos a otros temas”, afirmó Rubio. “La política de Estados Unidos sobre la cuestión de Taiwán no cambió hasta el día de hoy”, agregó. Trump evitó responder preguntas de periodistas sobre Taiwán durante una visita junto a Xi al Templo del Cielo.

Durante una cena de Estado realizada el jueves, Xi definió la relación entre China y Estados Unidos como la más importante del mundo. “Debemos hacer que funcione y nunca arruinarla”, afirmó el mandatario chino.

Xi también mencionó la llamada Trampa de Tucídides, teoría política que sostiene que una guerra se vuelve más probable cuando una potencia emergente compite con una potencia establecida. El líder chino afirmó que ambos países podían “trascender” ese riesgo.

En otra publicación en Truth Social, Trump sostuvo que Xi “felicitó muchos éxitos tremendos” de su gobierno.“Hace dos años éramos, de hecho, una nación en declive”, escribió Trump. “Ahora, Estados Unidos es la nación más fuerte del mundo”.

Otro de los temas abordados durante la visita fue el caso del empresario y activista de Hong Kong Jimmy Lai, condenado en febrero a 20 años de prisión por conspiración con fuerzas extranjeras y publicación de material sedicioso.

Rubio confirmó que Trump planteó el caso ante Xi durante las conversaciones bilaterales. “El presidente siempre plantea ese caso y algunos otros, y obviamente esperamos obtener una respuesta positiva”, afirmó el secretario de Estado.

“Estaríamos abiertos a cualquier arreglo que funcione para ellos, siempre y cuando obtenga su libertad”, agregó Rubio sobre Lai, quien negó todos los cargos en su contra.

(Con información de REUTERS y AFP)

President Donald Trump turned Chinese President Xi Jinping’s reported swipe at the West during the U.S. and China’s high-stakes meetings in Beijing into a political attack on former President Joe Biden Thursday.

«When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, and on that score, he was 100% correct,» Trump wrote on Truth Social ahead of the second day of talks between the U.S. and China.

After the U.S. delegation was greeted with pomp and circumstance at an opening ceremony Wednesday night, Xi invoked the so-called «Thucydides Trap» during opening remarks, asking whether China and the United States could avoid the historical pattern of conflict between a rising power and an established one.

TRUMP-XI’S CHINA SUMMIT IS A DEFINING TEST FOR AMERICA IN THE NEW COLD WAR

The line echoed Beijing’s broader view of a shifting global balance of power, though it is unclear if Xi explicitly called the U.S. or the West a «declining nation.»

«President Xi was not referring to the incredible rise that the United States has displayed to the world during the 16 spectacular months of the Trump Administration, which includes all-time high stock markets and 401K’s, military victory and thriving relationship in Venezuela, the military decimation of Iran (to be continued!),» Trump added in his post.

«The United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before!» Trump continued.

BEHIND SUMMIT SMILES, XI GIVES BLUNT WARNING TO TRUMP OF ‘CLASHES’ AND ‘CONFLICTS’

Trump went on to say that the United States «suffered immeasurably» under Biden-era policies like open borders, increased taxes, DEI, «transgender for everybody,» and sanctuary city ordinances. He agreed that «two years ago» the nation was «in decline.»

President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with U.S. President Joe Biden at Trump’s inauguration in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the White House for comment. 

A White House spokesperson referred Fox News Digital back to the president’s Truth Social post, but a Chinese Embassy spokesperson said in a statement that «the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand.»

However, the Chinese embassy spokesperson did not respond to inquiries asking for more context about Xi’s reported comments. 

Xi’s «Thucydides Trap» reference was not a direct statement that the United States or the West is declining, but it invoked a geopolitical theory about the danger of conflict when a rising power challenges an established one and came as the Chinese president raised the prospect of a future U.S.-China clash over Taiwan. The phrase has been used in U.S.–China policy circles to describe fears that China’s rise could put it on a collision course with Washington.

President Donald Trump meets with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14, 2026. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

«On a welcoming banquet for President Trump, President Xi pointed out that this year marks the start of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. The over 1.4 billion people of China, drawing on the rich heritage of our over-5,000-year civilization, are advancing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development. This year is also the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. The over 300 million American people are reinvigorating the spirit of patriotism, innovation and enterprise, and ushering in a new journey for the development of the United States,» the spokesperson said in their statement to Fox News Digital.

«The peoples of China and the United States are both great peoples. Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand. We can help each other succeed and advance the well-being of the whole world. President Xi and President Trump also agreed to build a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, and bring more peace, prosperity and progress to the world.»

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Former President Biden’s personal history with Xi dates back to both their tenures as vice presidents. 

But as president, Biden’s relationship with Xi was one that involved an ongoing strategic rivalry, with the two leaders meeting in Bali in 2022 and California in 2023 as Washington and Beijing tried to stabilize ties amid disputes over Taiwan, a spy balloon caught over the United States, fentanyl and other disputes.

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s representatives for comment, but did not immediately hear back in time for publication. 

«We should be partners, not rivals,» Xi told Trump during opening remarks that followed the welcome ceremony in front of Great Hall of the People in Beijing. «We should help each other succeed and prosper together and find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other in the new era.»

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a top Trump ally and fellow Republican, announced Thursday that he is convening the state legislature in Columbia, South Carolina, starting Friday for a special session to «address the state budget and congressional districts» in his largely Republican state.

«I have issued an Executive Order calling the General Assembly back for an extra legislative session to address the state budget and congressional districts beginning Friday, May 15, at 11:00 AM,» McMaster wrote on X. 

The move comes amid intraparty Republican tensions over the Trump-backed effort to redraw the state’s congressional map — a push that could threaten the tenure of longtime Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, the man credited with reviving former President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, and four other senators earlier this week joined Democrats to defeat a proposal that would have allowed the chamber to vote on redistricting after the South Carolina legislative session closed Thursday.

The roadblock came hours after President Donald Trump warned he is «watching closely» the redistricting effort. Trump’s message came a week after five Indiana Republican state senators who in December helped sink congressional redistricting in the solidly red Midwestern state were ousted by Trump-backed challengers in GOP primaries.

Proponents of the South Carolina redraw hope that the new map will ultimately rid the state’s congressional delegation of its lone Democrat, while advising lawmakers to move the primary for House members to August.

SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS DEFY TRUMP, TANK REDISTRICTING, FOR NOW

Clyburn, the octogenarian Orangeburg, South Carolina, lawmaker considered a kingmaker in Palmetto State Democratic politics — and credited with reviving then-candidate Biden’s floundering campaign with his endorsement in 2020 — may not be long for Capitol Hill, as a redraw would almost certainly redistribute the state’s heavy Republican advantage across its seven districts.

Clyburn said he remains confident he can win re-election even under a new map.

«I don’t know why people think I could not get re-elected if they redistrict South Carolina,» Clyburn said in a CNN interview. «I have a district that’s about 45 percent African American. I have no idea what the number will be after the legislature finishes, but whatever that number is, I will be running on my record and America’s promise.»

Massey argued in a floor speech that following Trump’s lead on redistricting would run counter to the interests of the Palmetto State.

«South Carolina has always punched above their weight,» Massey said. «Doing this will diminish that influence.»

But he also acknowledged that he will likely face political payback from Trump and the president’s allies.

TRUMP TARGETS RED STATE REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS IN PUSH FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING

«There are likely consequences for me, personally, taking the position that I am right now,» Massey said. «I’m comfortable with that. I may not like it, but I’m comfortable with it. … My conscience is clear on this one.»

The recent Callais decision at the Supreme Court — which eliminated Louisiana’s race-conscious map that provided for two largely minority-heavy Democratic strongholds — has already spurred action in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, and with Clyburn’s district itself reportedly the product of a George H.W. Bush Justice Department request regarding racial makeup, its days may be numbered.

The DOJ in 1992 recommended creating a majority-Black district in South Carolina, and Clyburn swiftly won the seat upon the retirement of fellow Democratic Rep. Robin Mooneyhan Tallon of Hemingway, according to a Government Printing Office publication on Black Americans in Congress. 

President Joe Biden, left, Rep. James Clyburn, right. (Mandel Ngan/Getty Images)

Clyburn is also reportedly a relative of the previous Black South Carolina congressman, Republican George Washington Murray, who served in the 1890s.

The 85-year-old recently signed documents to make his run for re-election official, quipping that he is in good health and simply celebrating the 47th anniversary of his 39th birthday soon.

If redistricting fails and Clyburn is able to run again, he will join a growing list of octogenarian — and some nonagenarian — lawmakers who remain bullish about their political prospects.

The oldest sitting member is Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who is 92, while elderly lawmakers facing re-election in 2026 besides Clyburn include Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., who is 88, and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who is 87. Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, is 83 and running for re-election, which would make him 89 at the end of his next term.

Four of the leading South Carolina Republicans running for governor this year, Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, Attorney Gen. Alan Wilson, and Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, earlier this week criticized the redistricting setback in the state Senate.

Evette called McMaster’s move «a critical step for President Trump and the people of South Carolina.»

And Wilson said, «South Carolina has the opportunity to lead, and lawmakers should move quickly to pass new maps before the June primary.»

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Alabama convened a special session earlier in May that House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, correctly predicted would force the courts to rule on the validity of a special-case redistricting referendum there.

Tennessee successfully redrew its map, which is likely to result in the ouster of longtime Shelby County Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, while Mississippi hit a snag in its own efforts after Gov. Tate Reeves pumped the brakes on a Callais-spurred effort to boot former House Jan. 6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson in the Delta.

Republican state senators in Louisiana on Thursday advanced a plan to eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black congressional seats ahead of the midterms.

Louisiana’s state House will likely vote on the map next week. The state holds its primary on Saturday, but the state’s congressional primaries are being postponed until November.