Why experts say trade wins aren’t enough for Xi-Trump summit in May

Advertisement2026 Trump-Xi summitChinaDiplomacyWhy experts say trade wins aren’t enough for Xi-Trump summit in May

Former diplomat warns ‘malpractice-like’ lack of preparation for meeting could hollow out potential for productive talks

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Cao Jiaxuanin BeijingPublished: 6:00am, 28 Apr 2026The coming summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump offers a window to stabilise bilateral ties through trade deals, but former diplomats and business figures have urged the leaders to move beyond commerce during their talks.At a forum held by the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG) in Beijing on Sunday, analysts and former officials called on the leaders to address issues such as healthcare, climate change, technological decoupling and AI governance.

One former diplomat also warned of a “malpractice-like” lack of summit preparation that might prevent the two leaders from making progress on complex security and people-to-people issues beyond trade deals.

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The summit, originally planned for late March, has been rescheduled to mid-May due to the US-Israel war on Iran.

Roberta Lipson, founder of United Family Healthcare, China’s first foreign-funded private hospital, said she was confident the summit next month would produce “a number of transaction wins, with probably soybean and aircraft orders and further tariff reductions, which will help stabilise the mood in the business community”.

AdvertisementBut Lipson, also chair emeritus of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, urged the two sides to strive for progress beyond commerce to solidify stability in US-China relations.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x