The Trump-Xi summit: Why Europe has so much at stake

Chinese President Xi Jinping is embarking on a three-day summit with US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, next Wednesday. Europeans are keenly monitoring the meeting to assess the potential impact on their economic interests. The summit will revolve around various topics, including trade, artificial intelligence (AI), and rare earths. This is the second meeting between the two leaders within a year, following a crucial trade truce in October 2025, which saw the two sides put an end to weeks of trade tensions.

The European Union (EU) has been engaged in critical negotiations with Beijing since June, aiming to reduce its €1 billion-per-day trade deficit. As of now, the EU has until October to achieve tangible progress in these negotiations.

Since the China-US summit in October 2025, the Iran war has erupted, causing a surge in energy prices and heightening pressure on the US President ahead of the November midterm elections. On China's end, shipments to the US have surged by 34.4% in a year, resulting in China's trade surplus with the US reaching approximately $29.2 billion, according to Chinese data.

Alicia García Herrero, an expert at Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, notes that Xi Jinping arrives in Washington with a significant advantage. She points out that this summit will have consequences for various areas that directly concern the EU. In light of this, what can Europeans anticipate from the US-China summit?

One issue on the table for Xi and Trump is tariff cuts. The trade truce, set to expire on November 10, will be a focal point of the summit. A year after the initial agreement, there is hope for stabilization between Washington and Beijing. US Trade Representative Jamie Jamieson Greer expects China and the US to make "some announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers." Moreover, a mutual tariff reduction covering $30 billion in goods is also anticipated.

Another area of interest for the EU is the reduction of rare earth exports. In the previous trade war, China had blocked global exports of these strategic materials, critical for EU industries. While the EU has been pushing for access to these resources, the US holds greater negotiating power in securing the materials, warns García Herrero.

Artificial intelligence is another topic expected to be discussed during the summit. Amid growing concerns about international safeguards surrounding AI technology, both China and the US have expressed apprehensions. However, they are also engaged in an intensifying technological competition.

The EU is notably absent from discussions on AI development, leaving it with limited influence in this realm. García Herrero stresses that the summit will "confirm the G20 nature of the world," highlighting the limited role Europe can play in shaping the AI discourse.