Live updates: Trump returns to Washington after leaving Beijing summit with few clear wins

President Donald Trump is defending remarks from earlier this week when he said he wasn’t factoring in Americans’ financial situation amid efforts to negotiate an end to the Iran war.

“That’s a perfect statement, I’d make it again,” Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview Friday after being shown a clip of his previous comments.

Trump told reporters Tuesday that he wasn’t thinking about Americans’ finances “even a little bit” as he negotiates with Iran to end the monthslong conflict, adding that his sole focus is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“The only thing that matters, when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: You cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”

Read the full story here.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is under criticism from members of his own party over his voting record in the Senate, including his recent vote against a resolution aiming to limit Trump's war powers in Iran.

Several Philadelphia-area Democratic leaders and officials spoke to NBC Philadelphia to voice their disappointment with his job performance, with some saying they wouldn't back him if he runs again in 2028.

"I would not support him for re-election," said Ala Stanford, who is running for Congress in Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, leveled criticism at his own party today, saying there was a pervasive problem with antisemitism among Democrats as well as Republicans.

“I think what is clear is antisemitism is a problem in the Democratic party," Shapiro, who is Jewish, told NBC News. "It is also a problem in the Republican party. It is a pervasive problem in our politics today and I think it’s important that leaders of both parties stand up, call it out and not leave space in our politics for people to inject antisemitism."

Shapiro added that antisemitism is becoming "normalized in our system today."

"We are seeing it in political ads. We’re seeing it in attacks against lawmakers," Shapiro said.

Trump cast his two-day summit with Xi as successful when he arrived back at the White House.

Asked who benefited more from the trip, Trump told reporters: "All I can say is, that was a great success. It was fantastic."

"We made great deals, we did great trade deals, we had great relationships. And a lot of things have happened and you’ll be hearing about them," he added. "But that was a tremendous success."

The U.S. and China have not announced any major developments on issues like Iran and Taiwan that were discussed at the Beijing summit.

The Supreme Court today turned away a long-shot effort by Virginia Democrats to revive a new, voter-approved congressional map they wanted to use in this year’s midterm elections.

The brief decision with no dissents leaves in place a ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court that found legal flaws in the process leading up to the referendum.

The legal fight had fizzled in recent days, with Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger saying Wednesday that the deadline to use a new map in Virginia had expired anyway.

Read the full story here.

Rising prices related to the Iran war will cause "short-term pain," but energy costs will ultimately drop to levels lower than they were before the conflict, Trump told Fox News' Bret Baier today in an interview that was taped before he left China.

"When people hear me say it, everybody agrees," Trump said. "It's going to be short-term pain, but the pain is much less than people thought."

Trump's answer comes after Baier questioned him on recent comments in which he said he wasn't motivated "not even a little bit" by Americans' finances as he negotiates and end to the Iran conflict.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced today that he’s commuting the prison sentence of Tina Peters, a former county clerk and 2020 election denier who was sentenced to nine years behind bars for tampering with election equipment.

Polis, a Democrat, wrote in an executive order that Peters “is granted parole effective June 1.” Her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The move comes after a state appeals court found last month that Peters’ lengthy sentence was improper and directed she be resentenced.

Peters’ cause had been repeatedly championed by President Donald Trump, who has posted “Free Tina Peters” numerous times on his social media site and blasted Polis as a “sleazebag” who should “rot in hell” for not using his power as governor to free the former Mesa County clerk.

Read the full story here.

Facing calls to step aside in a major upcoming case involving climate change, conservative Justice Samuel Alito is pushing back, with a Supreme Court spokeswoman saying he has no conflict that would require recusal.

“Justice Alito does not have a financial interest in any party” involved in the case, the court spokeswoman said in a statement provided to NBC News. Alito was advised by the court’s legal counsel that “his recusal is not required,” she added.

Read the full story here.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., weighed in Friday on domestic abuse allegations Rep. Max Miller’s ex-wife has made against the Ohio Republican, saying “he’s got to work that out.”

“I don’t get involved in the personal lives of members and those things. You know, he’s refuted some of these allegations, and he’s got to work that out,” Johnson said when asked by NBC News about the allegations.

It’s a complicated situation for Republicans. Miller, who is in his second term in Congress, is in a bitter divorce fight with his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno, another Ohio Republican. Miller has vehemently denied the allegations and is suing her alleging defamation.

In California’s crowded race for governor, Xavier Becerra has quickly risen in the polls, capitalizing on a message centered on his extensive experience in government, including stints as U.S. health and human services secretary, the state’s attorney general and a member of Congress.

“I’ll make sure as governor I tackle these crises because I’ve been through these crises before and had to handle them,” Becerra said at a gubernatorial debate last month. “We need someone with experience, someone who doesn’t need on-the-job training.”

But that argument has drawn an onslaught of criticism from Becerra’s fellow alumni of the Biden administration, including some who worked closely with him, over his leadership of HHS and how he handled multiple crises during his tenure.

Read the full story here.

In an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, the president reiterated his pessimism about the potential release of Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong businessman who was detained by the Chinese government in 2020, but said he was "optimistic" that Xi might release a different political prisoner, Pastor Ezra Jin.

"He went through a whole thing, and I said, ‘Well, I would appreciate if you would release him. He’s gotten old, and he’s probably not feeling too well. It would be nice.’ And I did not feel optimistic. I have to be honest with you about that one," Trump told Baier, referring to Lai.

He added, referring to Jin, "I did — I did feel optimistic about the second one, that’s now under consideration."

Jin, the founder and pastor of Zion Church, was detained last year after allegedly leading an underground Christian church network.

BEIJING — Though Trump said he and Xi “discussed almost everything,” their superpower summit here this week produced no sweeping agreements and concluded with just a handful of measurable outcomes.

Instead, each side lavished praise upon its counterpart and appeared to count the level-setting as an important step toward stabilizing the relationship.

Read the full story here.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attempt to do away with anti-gerrymandering provisions in the state constitution had its first day in court today, as opposing attorneys pushed a Tallahassee judge to put a temporary hold on new congressional lines that created four additional GOP-leaning seats.

A series of lawsuits from advocacy groups challenging the map argue in large part that Jason Pereda, the DeSantis administration’s map-drawer, used political data to draw the new districts, which they say makes them unconstitutional in Florida after voters passed the Fair Districts amendments with 63% support in 2010.

Read the full story here.

As Democrats look for a viable healthcare message ahead of the midterm elections, one well-connected think tank is pushing the party to embrace a new idea: free primary care for all Americans.

Searchlight Institute senior fellow David Bowen, a former Senate aide who helped craft the Affordable Care Act, said it would be delivered either through that law’s marketplaces, expanding on the preventive services mandate, or through a new “public option” that the group is calling the “American Health Gateway.”

Read the full story here.

The Justice Department is pushing to indict 94-year-old Raúl Castro, the former president of Cuba, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

One of the officials says the criminal action is over two civilian planes on a volunteer mission that were downed by Cuba in 1996. Four Cuban Americans were killed.

Read the full story here.

Court-appointed lawyers called Trump’s lawsuit against his own administration “unprecedented” in a court filing and said there was “no blueprint” for resolving his $10 billion claim against the IRS. 

“This case is unprecedented: A sitting president seeks monetary damages for alleged harm to his personal interests from an executive agency that he controls," the outside legal experts wrote in the filing. "That presents significant Article III subject matter jurisdiction concerns."

Trump sued the IRS and Treasury Department in 2024, alleging they were at fault for a leak of his tax documents to news outlets. 

Yesterday's filing came shortly after ABC News reported that Trump was expected to drop the lawsuit in exchange for a $1.7 billion pot of taxpayer money to hand out to his allies who claim to be victims of “weaponization,” including the roughly 1,600 Jan. 6 defendants charged in connection with the Capitol siege. NBC News has not independently confirmed ABC News' report, and a Justice Department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Senior Trump administration officials today announced there will be a surge of law enforcement operations across Washington, D.C., this summer as the nation marks its 250th anniversary.

U.S. Marshals Service Director Gadyaces Serralta, who leads an interagency task force focused on fighting crime in Washington, said the group "will push harder to eradicate crime and to increase the quality of life in our beautiful nation’s capital."

Serralta said that the task force will increase "high-visibility patrols across D.C." throughout the summer. Law enforcement will use drones, helicopters, canine teams and other assets, he said at a news conference with other law enforcement and Justice Department officials.

The Marshals Service, he said, will continue to arrest criminals with warrants, and the Drug Enforcement Administration will allocate more resources to the district "to attack the nexus between drugs and violent crime." The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will tackle firearms illegally trafficked across state lines from Maryland and Virginia, he added.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., announced today that he won’t be running for re-election this fall, after a redistricting push in Tennessee that carved up his Memphis-based district.

“This morning, I announced my decision not to run in any of the three gerrymandered congressional districts carved out of the 9th District that I have represented for more than 19 years,” Cohen said in a statement.

“Last week Tennessee Republicans silenced the Black vote here in Memphis to make Republican victories likely,” the congressman added.

Read the full story here.

The Justice Department intends to seek the death penalty against the man charged with killing two Israeli Embassy staffers last year, federal prosecutors wrote in a court filing today. 

Elias Rodriguez, a 31-year-old from Chicago, is the man charged with shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers last May outside the Capitol Jewish Museum. He was indicted on federal hate crimes charges and was charged with terrorism-related counts in February. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

If Rodriguez is convicted, federal prosecutors wrote, “the United States believes the circumstances of the offenses” are such that “a sentence of death is justified.” 

Rodriguez, they wrote, “intentionally killed victims Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim” and “committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation to cause the death of a person and commit an act of terrorism.” 

China has “learned a lot of things” from the U.S. war with Iran, including that “your allies are not really helpful,” a retired Chinese senior colonel told NBC News.

The Iran war, which has loomed large over the Trump-Xi summit, is unpopular with U.S. allies in Europe and elsewhere, some of whom have not allowed the U.S. to use their airspace or jointly run bases for military operations.

Retired Chinese senior colonel joins Tom Llamas for conversation about high-stakes Beijing summit

05:35

“None of them would come to help you, right?” Zhou Bo, a retired senior colonel in the Chinese army, said in an interview in Beijing with “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas. “So that means you have wasted your money over the past years and decades.”

“That is a good lesson for China, because Chinese policy is not to have an alliance,” said Zhou, who is also a senior fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

For the past several years, U.S. companies operating in China have cited U.S.-China tensions as their biggest concern. But now they are even more worried about China’s potential economic slowdown, a U.S. business group in China says.

According to an annual business climate survey released last month by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, 64% of companies said they were concerned about economic headwinds in the country, while 58% said they were worried about bilateral tensions. It is the first time in five years that U.S.-China tensions didn’t top the list.

“While geopolitical risks remain significant, this shift underscores growing concern about domestic economic conditions and their impact on business performance,” AmCham China said in a news release. 

Han Lin, China managing director at the Asia Group, said this development was interesting because it shows that despite the lack of specific deals announced during the Trump-Xi summit this week, “the very fact that both sides are engaging with each other is itself considered positive and helps to add to a level of predictability which lies at the heart of corporate planning.”

Trump may have left, but America will be back on Chinese screens this summer after China's state-owned broadcaster secured a deal to broadcast the men's soccer World Cup.

The deal ends months of uncertainty that had fueled concerns among the vast number of soccer fans in China that the showpiece tournament may not be available.

During previous World Cups, state broadcaster CCTV typically secured broadcasting rights well in advance and spent weeks rolling out promotional content. This time it went down to the wire, but China Media Group, the parent of China’s state broadcaster, said this morning it had secured the rights.

China has the world’s largest soccer fanbase with roughly 200 million people following the game. The announcement of the deal quickly spread on Chinese social media, topping the trending list on Weibo — the country’s X-like platform — with more than 27 million views within 45 minutes.

Xi’s warnings about Taiwan made clear that ties between Beijing and Washington depend heavily on how the U.S. handles the self-governing island claimed by China, according to one expert.

“Xi’s warnings about Taiwan make clear that commercial calm depends on Washington handling Taiwan with caution,” said Craig Singleton, a senior fellow and China expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 

“I would not overread this as a new threat,” Singleton added in emailed comments. “It is consistent with Beijing’s long-standing position. But the setting matters. Xi put Taiwan at the center of a summit Trump wants to define around deals and personal diplomacy.”

U.S. presidential visits to China are often remembered not just for the meetings, but for their locations.

Trump is the third U.S. president to make more than one visit to China while in office, after George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In 2017, Xi hosted Trump at the Forbidden City, but this time, his itinerary included the Temple of Heaven, bringing a U.S. president back to the imperial site for the first time in more than 50 years.

Richard Nixon became the first sitting U.S. president to visit China in 1972, traveling to Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai on a trip he later called “the week that changed the world.” At the Great Wall, he said the landmark “had to have been built by a great people.”

President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State William Rogers with Chinese Deputy Premier Li Xiannian during a visit to the Great Wall of China in 1972.  Corbis via Getty Images

Gerald Ford followed in 1975, four years before Washington and Beijing established formal diplomatic ties. His itinerary also included the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. After diplomatic ties were established, Ronald Reagan made a trip in 1984 that included stops in Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai, where he saw the famous terracotta warriors.

George H.W. Bush arrived in Beijing in February 1989, barely a month after taking office. The city was already familiar to him: He served as the top U.S. envoy to China in the 1970s and was known for cycling around Beijing with his wife, Barbara Bush.

George and Barbara Bush in China in 1974. The White House / AFP- Getty Images file

The Bush family’s bike connection continued years later under George W. Bush, who visited China four times while in office, more than any other U.S. president. His trips included the 2001 APEC summit in Shanghai, the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a 2005 ride with China’s national mountain biking team in Beijing.

Bill Clinton’s 1998 trip was the longest and most wide-ranging China visit by a sitting U.S. president, taking him to five cities over nine days: Xi’an, Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin and Hong Kong.

Barack Obama visited China three times as president: for a 2009 state visit, the 2014 APEC summit in Beijing and the 2016 G20 summit in Hangzhou.

Trump told reporters that he didn't discuss tariffs or computer chips with Xi during his meetings with his counterpart in China.

"We didn’t discuss tariffs. They’re paying tariffs, they’re paying substantial tariffs, but we didn’t discuss," Trump said on Air Force One when asked if he agreed with Xi to extend the yearlong truce on tariffs. "You know, before I came along, it was the opposite. We didn’t discuss that."

Asked about computer chips, Trump said, "It didn't come up."

Trump also added during his gaggle with the media that China is going to buy "billions of dollars of soybeans" from the U.S.

Trump criticized Iran’s latest proposal for peace while speaking to the media on Air Force One.

“I looked at it, and if I don’t like the first sentence, I just throw it away,” he said, adding that the nuclear guarantees were “not enough” in his estimation. 

When asked about the possibility of restarting bombing in Iran, Trump told reporters: “I’d like to say on a certain hour, a certain day, the bombing is going to start. I don’t want to say that. I can only say that Iran, I could say this with very, very strong conviction, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”

When it came to Iran, the U.S. may have touted agreement, but Beijing appeared to give Trump the bare minimum, according to one analyst.

Beijing’s agreement to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and its statement that Iran should not obtain nuclear weapons cost China “very little,” said Craig Singleton, a senior fellow and China expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

“Those rhetorical commitments cost China very little,” Singleton said in emailed comments. “The harder test is whether Beijing pressures Tehran, curbs Chinese purchases of Iranian oil, or helps Washington turn general language into observable outcomes.”

"So far, China appears willing to support de-escalation in principle, not carry Trump’s Iran policy in practice," he added.

Trump was asked on Air Force One if he succeeded in securing any form of arms control during talks with China.

"We brought it up — denuclearization. I talk about it all the time with Russia and with China, and it did come up. We did discuss that," Trump told reporters.

"I got a very positive response at the beginning," he added, but did not provide details on what was discussed.

People gather to watch Air Force One take off in Beijing today. Wang Zhao / AFP via Getty Images

Trump said on Air Force One that he would make a decision soon about whether to lift sanctions on Chinese oil companies that purchase Iranian oil.

"Well, we talked about that, and I’m going to make a decision over the next few days," he told reporters when asked if he would consider removing the sanctions.

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs Beijing today. Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images

Trump said on the flight back from China that he brought up the cases of several political prisoners in China during his conversations with Xi, including Jimmy Lai.

"He said Jimmy Lai's a tough one, went through a lot," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "He told me that would be a tough one."

Lai, a pro-democracy activist, was sentenced in February to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong after his conviction in a landmark national security trial.

Trump said he has not yet made a “determination” on whether a proposed $14 billion arms package to Taiwan will move forward.

“I’ll make a determination over the next fairly short period,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One while en route to Alaska, adding that he would need to speak with Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, before making a final decision.

Trump has said that he spoke “a lot” about Taiwan with Xi during their summit and that he does not believe there is a risk of conflict with China over the Beijing-claimed island. 

Asked whether there is a risk of conflict with China over Taiwan, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that “we’ll be fine.”

“President Xi and I talked about Taiwan,” Trump said during a gaggle with reporters en route to Alaska. “On Taiwan, he does not want to see a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation.”

Xi warned Trump that mishandling the issue of Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy, could create conflicts with the U.S. and jeopardize ties, according to a Chinese readout of the meeting. A U.S. readout had made no mention of Taiwan.

A large screen at a shopping mall in Xuchan, China, broadcasts coverage of Trump's visit. Cheng Xin / Getty Images

Trump has begun talks on the phone with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the Japanese government said on X.

Japan is a close U.S. ally and the call, while still on the way home from his summit with Xi, highlights the importance of that relationship and how any shifts in ties with China may affect it.

"China has a Ballroom, and so should the U.S.A.!" Trump wrote on Truth Social after departing Beijing today. He said the White House ballroom will be open around September 2028 and will be the "finest facility of its kind anywhere in the U.S.A."

Trump also posted a picture showing him walking alongside Xi and called him "one of the World's Great Leaders."

The Kremlin said today that Vladimir Putin's upcoming trip to China will provide a "good chance to exchange views" on Trump's visit to Beijing.

The timing of the trip has yet to be announced, but it is widely expected to be soon. "This will be an important visit. Our especially close trade ties will be on agenda as well as a whole range of other elements of our ties with China," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters today.

"Obviously, when top two economies are in dialogue — this is a matter of deep analysis for all countries in the world, including us," Peskov said. "We are assessing media reports and hope to get firsthand accounts once we are in China."

Taiwan thanked the U.S. today after Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News that Washington’s policy toward the island had not changed following Trump’s meeting with Xi in Beijing.

NBC News' Tom Llamas and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Beijing yesterday.  Ignacio Torres / NBC News

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung thanked the U.S. for repeatedly expressing support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, according to Taiwan’s government-funded Central News Agency.

Rubio said in an interview from Beijing that Taiwan came up during the Trump-Xi meeting, but that U.S. policy toward Taiwan remained unchanged.

Trump, still on his way back from China, has posted an official announcement on Truth Social of his plans to build the National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park in Washington, complete with a rendering. 

@realDonaldTrump / Truth Social

“Right now, it is a totally BARREN field of Prime Waterfront Real Estate along our Mighty Potomac River,” he wrote. “When finished, West Potomac Park will be a World Class Masterpiece with elegant Landscaping, and adorned with Beautiful Statues, and be yet another one of my great projects to make Washington, D.C., the Safest and Most Beautiful Capital in the World.”

The idea for the garden of statues of famous Americans dates back to his first term. Funding for the garden was included in the “big, beautiful bill.” 

They’ve never met, but Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are getting ready for the blind date of a lifetime. The two pandas are preparing to leave China on a nearly 8,000-mile trip to their new home in Atlanta.

Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will make the lengthy journey from their current home in Chengdu, a city of over 20 million people in southwestern China.

While Ping Ping is an avid bamboo eater, Fu Shuang — whose name means “double happiness” — is playful but a bit timid. She also enjoys snacking on apples and resting her chin on her paw.

The pair will eventually be moved to another panda base farther south before they begin their journey to America.

Read the full story here.

Exclusive look at Chinese pandas preparing for trip to America

02:03

When asked about Trump saying that China had agreed to buy 200 Boeing aircraft, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun didn't confirm the claim.

Instead, he told reporters today at a regular briefing, "China and the United States can promote their respective development and revitalization by strengthening cooperation." Trump had earlier told Fox News that China had agreed to buy 200 Boeing planes.

When asked if both countries had reached any agreement in agriculture, Guo said that the U.S. and China had reached "important consensus on maintaining the stability of economic and trade relations, expanding practical cooperation in various fields, and properly managing their differences."

China was willing to work with the U.S. to achieve win-win outcomes, he added.

Beijing seems to be seeking to ensure stability in U.S.-China relations for the rest of Trump’s term in office — as long as the U.S. doesn’t make any perceived false moves on Beijing-claimed Taiwan, one of the most sensitive issues in the relationship.

Trump and Xi tour Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing today. Evan Vucci / Getty Images

According to a Chinese readout of the Trump-Xi talks yesterday, the two leaders agreed to work toward a relationship of “constructive strategic stability,” a phrase that Xi said would guide ties for the next three years and beyond.

There was no mention of the concept in the U.S. readout of the talks, although Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to allude to it in an interview with NBC News.

“One of the things the Chinese emphasize, which we agree, is strategic stability in our relationship, a constructive relationship, but also one that establishes strategic stability so that we don’t have misunderstandings that could lead to broader conflict,” he told “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas in Beijing.

The new framing accepts that the U.S.-China relationship is a competitive one, while potentially allowing China to define what kind of competition crosses the line, Chinese affairs commentator Bill Bishop said in his Sinocism newsletter.

“The Chinese government wants a period of strategic détente and this concept could realize that on terms favorable to them for the rest of Trump’s second term,” he said.

Any future U.S. action that China doesn’t like, such as combating Chinese industrial overcapacity or tightening export controls, “could then be cast by Beijing as violations of the new ‘constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability’ to which the two leaders personally agreed,” Bishop said.

Ahead of their closed-door lunch, Xi gave Trump a tour of Zhongnanhai, the former imperial gardens that now serve as the leadership compound of the Chinese Communist Party.

During the tour, a hot mic captured the leaders talking.

Xi pointed out several historic trees on the grounds, saying some were hundreds of years old and others more than 1,000 years old.

01:04

“One of them is 490 years old. In other places within this compound, there are trees that have lived to be over 1,000 years old,” Xi told Trump. 

Trump replied, “They live that long?”

Pointing to two trees growing side by side, Xi said they were “connected as one.”

Xi also noted that the site is rarely used for foreign affairs events. Trump responded that it was a “nice place.”

Evan Vucci / POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Evan Vucci / POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The president has now finished his whirlwind visit to China and is heading home to the U.S.

His plane took off from Beijing Capital International Airport at around 2:41 p.m. local time (2:41 a.m. ET).

The president’s motorcade has arrived at the airport in Beijing. Trump was greeted with a red carpet and an honor guard, with dignitaries there to see him off.

01:01

A group of children dressed in blue and white held flags and chanted “Farewell, farewell, a warm farewell” as Trump climbed the steps of Air Force One.

He waved before boarding and will now fly home to Washington.

While the Chinese capital regularly hosts world leaders, few command the sort of attention that comes with a visiting U.S. president. And in Trump’s case, his plane.

The landing of Air Force One this week for the pivotal summit was a source of fascination in China. For Trump’s departure today, hundreds of amateur photographers, livestreamers and enthusiasts flocked to the airport to watch the famous presidential plane take off.

“It’s obvious we can just watch Air Force One on CCTV,” said a 19-year-old Beijinger named Yang, "but to take a look at Air Force One in real life, that’s breathtaking.”

With the summit between Trump and Xi winding down, security around the city is easing.

Every time the presidential motorcade made a move, traffic on Beijing’s congested freeways and streets was brought to a complete halt. There have been layers of added fences and barriers, as well as other restrictions (like banning people from using a balcony overlooking motorcade routes) to ensure the two-day visit went off without a hitch.

Trump is now heading to Beijing Capital International Airport after a closed-door lunch with Xi, concluding his state visit.

NBC News looks at Trump’s comments on trade agreements that may have been reached during the U.S.-China summit as well as how the United States’ stance on Taiwan could affect further trade relations between the two countries.

07:20

Trump and Xi were served an expansive menu during their closed-door lunch, with dishes ranging from seafood to traditional Chinese specialties.

The offerings included minced codfish in seafood soup, crispy and stir-fried lobster balls, pan-seared beef fillet stuffed with mushrooms, kung pao chicken, braised seasonal greens, stewed beef in a bun, and steamed pork and shrimp dumplings.

Chocolate brownies, fruit and ice cream were served for dessert.

After living without their loved ones for more than a decade, two families of Americans detained in China are appealing to Trump to bring them home as he meets with Xi in Beijing.

U.S. citizens Dawn Michelle Hunt, a 54-year-old from Illinois, and Nelson Wells Jr., a 52-year-old from Louisiana, are both in Chinese prisons on separate allegations of drug trafficking after their families say they were caught up in smuggling scams at the airport.

The Hunt and Wells families see the state visit this week as a rare opportunity for Trump to speak directly to Xi about releasing the two Americans, whose families say are both in declining health.

Read the full story here.

The Trump administration had telegraphed that AI would be a core part of the meeting between the U.S. and China, but it remains unclear exactly what sort of agreement could be reached over the quick-moving technology. 

Both sides have acknowledged AI as a critical issue for global power and technological leadership, with Trump arguing the U.S. “is in a race to achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence.”

China is seen as America’s chief competitor, with its leading systems months behind America’s top companies. The U.S. exerts control over several key bottlenecks in the AI pipeline, especially the manufacturing equipment and chips necessary to power AI hardware.

Some of the administration’s leading AI policy architects are part of the delegation to China, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Michael Kratsios. 

Xi gave Trump a lavish welcome in Tiananmen Square as the superpower summit began. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas that key topics included Iran, Taiwan and trade deals.

Trump’s high-stakes summit in China

07:50

Trump and Xi are now at a working lunch at Zhongnanhai, the last event on the schedule before Trump returns to Washington.

Trump said he and Xi settled “a lot of different problems” that others would have struggled to resolve, and he lavished praise on the U.S.-China relationship.

Trump praises Xi, says ‘wonderful things’ done during China summit

01:50

“We did discuss Iran,” Trump said, saying he and Xi share similar feelings about how they wish for the conflict to end.

“We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon; we want the straits open,” he added in a reference to the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route whose effective shutdown by Iran has disrupted global energy supplies.

Trump and Xi are seated in an ornate room, joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as well as the U.S. ambassador to China, David Perdue, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Xi welcomes Trump to Zhongnanhai for summit closing remarks

02:23

The two sides made “fantastic trade deals,” Trump said.

Xi is joined by a cadre of top officials including Cai Qi, his chief of staff; Foreign Minister Wang Yi; Vice Premier He Lifeng; and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu.

Trump and Xi’s talk lasted about 10 minutes out of sight of reporters. As they continued with their walk, Trump remarked, “These are the most beautiful roses anyone has ever seen.”

Asked whether he was enjoying his visit, Trump offered a thumbs-up.

“No questions,” a Chinese official said.

The two leaders continued their walk through a covered passageway with painted archways that showed birds and traditional Chinese mountain scenes.

Trump and Xi touring the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing today. Mark Schiefelbein / Getty Images

Xi spoke about the history of the compound through a translator and said he was sending rose seeds to Trump.

Zhongnanhai is a lakeside, walled leadership compound next to the Forbidden City where China’s top leaders have worked and lived since 1949. It was once part of Beijing’s imperial garden system, and its name, which comes from two connected lakes, Zhonghai and Nanhai, is often used as shorthand for China’s top leadership.

Xi and Trump at Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on Friday. Evan Vucci / Pool / AFP via Getty Images

The compound has been the setting for some of the most symbolic moments in U.S.-China diplomacy. Nixon met Mao Zedong there in 1972, hours after he arrived in Beijing for a visit that opened the way for the normalization of U.S.-China relations.

The most recent major U.S. presidential event was Barack Obama’s 2014 meeting with Xi at Yingtai, an imperial-era site inside Zhongnanhai. Chinese state media later framed the meeting as an unusually intimate leader-to-leader exchange, saying their one-on-one talks lasted almost five hours, far longer than scheduled.

Like the last time Trump and Xi met, women are conspicuously absent from talks between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies.

Almost all of the business executives and officials who traveled to China with Trump are men, except for Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and Meta President Dina Powell McCormick.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Meta President Dina Powell McCormick in Beijing on Thursday. Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images

There are also few women on the Chinese side. Though Xi has called for more women in governance, since 2022 there have been no women in his 24-member Politburo, China’s top policymaking body, the first time they have been shut out in 20 years.

First lady Melania Trump, who accompanied Trump on his last state visit to China in 2017, is not on the trip this time. But the president is traveling with Brett Ratner, director of the “Melania” documentary released this year. The film represented a comeback for Ratner after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct in 2017, allegations he has denied and was never charged over.

Trump and Xi are set to begin the second and final day of their summit in Beijing with a tea ceremony at Zhongnanhai Garden, a sweeping government compound dating to the imperial age, followed by a working lunch.

Xi and Trump at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing on Thursday. Mark Schiefelbein / Pool / AFP via Getty Images

Whether the two sides strike any formal agreements before the trip wraps up remains to be seen, though a Chinese official this morning told the pool traveling with Trump that Trump and Xi wanted to have a private discussion as the second day got underway. Trump had said last night during the state banquet that he hoped to continue the day's conversation into the evening.

The walled gardens Trump and Xi are walking through have ornamented Chinese roofs and winding paths trimmed by pink, yellow and red roses, along with manicured lawns and carefully tended trees. A clock chimed 11 as Trump arrived, and there is so little outside noise that you can hear birdsong, in contrast to much of the rest of the city of 22 million people.

Trump is making his way to Zhongnanhai, a formal imperial retreat that now serves as the leadership compound of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.

Trump's motorcade heads to Zhongnanhai Garden. Pedro Pardo / AFP via Getty Images

Trump and Xi are expected to pose for photos commemorating Trump’s visit before heading into a working tea.

The two leaders are also scheduled to hold a closed-door lunch before Trump departs for Washington later this afternoon.

The “best single measure” of the success of this week’s U.S.-China summit is how concrete the plans seem to be for a reciprocal U.S. visit by Xi, said Kurt Tong, a managing partner at the Asia Group, with Trump saying the date has been set for Sept. 24.

Trump and Xi on Thursday. Kenny Holston / Pool/AFP via Getty Images

“Such a visit would be a big deal — bigger than President Trump going to Beijing,” said Tong, a former diplomat who was the U.S. consul general in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong.

“If that seems solid, it means a deep commitment by both sides to pursuing strategic stability,” he added.

Trump said the "military decimation of Iran" is "to be continued" on Truth Social on Friday morning, Beijing time.

Trump said earlier this week that the weekslong ceasefire with Iran is on "life support" amid stalling negotiations to end the war.

The war with Iran, and the subsequent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, has featured in bilateral talks in Beijing. Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday morning that Xi said his country would not provide military equipment to Iran.

Trump finished his interview with Sean Hannity tonight by predicting the U.S.-China summit "will go down as a very important moment in history."

"Well, I think it's a very historic summit. It's the two great countries," Trump said on Fox News. "I think it will go down as a very important moment in history, and maybe more than anything else, a great moment of respect."

Trump said tonight that during their meeting, Xi agreed to consider buying oil from the U.S.

"They get a lot of their oil, 40% of their oil, from that location," Trump said in an interview with Sean Hannity, referring to oil from Iran. "One thing I think that we were going to make a deal on is they've agreed, they want to buy oil from the United States, they're going to go to Texas."

"We're going to start sending Chinese ships to Texas and to Louisiana and to Alaska, and I think that was another thing that was agreed to, that's a big thing," he continued.

Asked whether a deal could include liquefied natural gas, Trump said, "Yeah, everything."

Trump said Xi told him "he likes the idea" of buying oil from the U.S.

"I think it'll happen," Trump said. "Look, they're doing it right now. They're sending Chinese ships up to buy it."

Trump said that he thinks Xi is a "warm person, actually, but he's all business."

"There's no games. There's no talking about how nice the weather is. Let's look at the stars. Let's look at the sun. No, he's all, he's all business," Trump said in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.

"I like that. That's a good thing. No games, I said about him," Trump continued.

Trump has repeatedly complimented Xi's leadership during his visit to Beijing, calling him "a tremendous leader."

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that he expects to "see an agreement for double-digit billion purchases" of U.S. agricultural products after Trump's visit to China concludes.

Speaking on Bloomberg TV, Greer was asked if China is complying with prior trade agreements on farm products and he said it has.

Greer also spoke about rare earth elements, critical to the manufacturing of everything from smartphones to electric vehicles to medical diagnostic equipment. He said that "sometimes" China drags its feet on allowing those to be exported, but he would still give the country "a passing grade."

Asked if the ongoing trade truce that the U.S. and China are in will be extended after the visit, Greer said, "We'll see about that."

On the first day of U.S.-China talks, Xi warned of “clashes and even conflicts” over Taiwan, cautioning Trump that tensions over the Beijing-claimed island could jeopardize ties between the world’s two biggest economies.

Xi delivered the stark warning as the two leaders met for high-stakes talks in Beijing at the start of their two-day summit. It contrasted with the public praise both men offered as they arrived for a grand welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese capital.

The rival superpowers entered the summit divided over thorny issues, including Taiwan, trade disputes and the Iran war, though both Washington and Beijing have sought to prioritize stability in bilateral relations after a turbulent start to Trump’s second term.

Differences in the two countries’ tone at the summit — as well as differing versions of what Trump and Xi discussed — reflected the probable difficulties in bridging those gaps.

Read the full story here.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was asked in an interview on Bloomberg TV about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's joining the trip at the last minute.

Greer chuckled discussing Huang's meeting Air Force One in Alaska and said that in meetings with Chinese officials, "we did not talk about chip export controls."

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Meta President Dina Powell McCormick leave after a banquet at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday. Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. allows some Nvidia chips to be sold into China; however, they are now multiple generations old, so none have been sold to Chinese customers yet.

Huang's joining the trip had caused Nvidia shares and those of other major tech companies to rally in recent days, as investors thought it was a possible sign of the Chinese market's thawing to U.S. chip suppliers.

Trump said tonight that he brought top business leaders who traveled with him to China into his meeting with Xi and discussed how to increase trade between the U.S. and China.

“I suggested that before we start the meeting, I’d like to introduce them to you, and they were surprised, because it wasn’t, you know, it wasn’t scheduled,” Trump said in an interview with Sean Hannity, referring to bringing Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Jensen Huang and other CEOs into the meeting with Chinese officials.

“It’s interesting, because they do business in general, most of them do business here, but probably like to do more, and I’d like to see them do more. That would be good for trade and trade balance, and they were fantastic,” Trump said.

Trump discussed the Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during a summit with Xi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview today, adding that the U.S. was not asking for Beijing’s help with Iran.

“The Chinese side said they are not in favor of militarizing the Straits of Hormuz, and they’re not in favor of a tolling system, and that’s our position,” Rubio said in Beijing after Trump, Xi and their delegations held more than two hours of talks.

Marco Rubio says 'we're not asking for China's help' with Iran

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During the wide-ranging interview, Rubio — who traveled to Beijing while he is under Chinese sanctions in what appears to be a first for a U.S. secretary of state — said Trump and Xi also discussed the Beijing-claimed island of Taiwan and the case of Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy publisher in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong who was sentenced to 20 years in prison this year after he was convicted in a landmark national security trial.

Read the full story here.

Trump and Xi are set to meet today for a second round of talks in Beijing, with events that include a photo, tea and a working lunch before Trump heads back to the U.S.

Talks yesterday included a warning from Xi over U.S. policy toward Taiwan, with Xi saying mishandling Beijing’s claim over the self-ruling island could cause “clashes and even conflicts,” China’s Foreign Ministry said.

Yesterday’s bilateral meeting also touched on the Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.