Trump's Beijing visit seeks stable US‑China ties, raises Jimmy Lai case

U.S. President Donald Trump made a two‑day state visit to Beijing, the first by a sitting U.S. president since 2017, and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People. Both leaders said they would work toward a "constructive, strategic and stable relationship" while acknowledging ongoing frictions over Taiwan, the Iran conflict and the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

During the talks, Trump said he would raise the imprisonment of Hong Kong media entrepreneur and Catholic activist Jimmy Lai, who has spent more than 1,900 days behind bars under the city’s national‑security law, as well as the case of pastor Ezra Jin Mingri. U.S. officials have described the charges as fabricated and have urged China to release the prisoners.

The meeting signals a tentative thaw in U.S.–China relations, though analysts note that Taiwan remains a central point of potential conflict and that future diplomatic moves, such as reciprocal state visits, will be closely watched.