(TNND) — President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday morning for a multi-day state visit, where he is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss trade and the ongoing war with Iran.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Marine One on Tuesday, Trump struck an optimistic tone about the trip. “I think you’re going to see that good things are going to happen. This is going to be a very exciting trip,” he said. “A lot of good things are going to happen.”
Trump said he plans to have a “long talk” with Xi about the Iran conflict, which Beijing has called illegitimate. He added that Xi has been “relatively good” regarding the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
China remains Iran’s largest trading partner, purchasing roughly 90% of its exported oil and generating billions of dollars annually for Tehran, according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Trade is expected to dominate the agenda. Trump said he will push for agreements that would increase Chinese purchases of American agricultural products and aircraft, noting he will focus on trade “more than anything else.” He also expressed confidence ahead of the visit, saying the U.S. and China are “going to have a great relationship for many, many decades to come.”
While en route to Beijing, Trump posted on social media that his “first request” to Xi would be to expand opportunities for U.S. businesses in China. “I will be asking President Xi, a leader of extraordinary distinction, to ‘open up’ China,” Trump wrote, adding that greater access would help both countries prosper.
In addition to trade and Iran, Trump is expected to raise the possibility of a trilateral nuclear arms agreement between the United States, China and Russia, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters ahead of the trip on condition of anonymity.
China has previously shown little interest in such a pact, as its nuclear arsenal—estimated by the Pentagon at more than 600 operational warheads—remains significantly smaller than those of the U.S. and Russia, which each possess more than 5,000.
Taiwan is also likely to be a key point of discussion. Beijing has expressed strong opposition to U.S. plans to sell weapons to the self-governing island, which China claims as its own territory. Trump said he intends to discuss an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan that was approved in December but has yet to be implemented. The deal is the largest of its kind ever authorized for the island.
Trump is expected to be joined on the trip by 16 top American executives, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook, underscoring the economic focus of the visit.
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