BEIJING - With three weeks until US President Donald Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping, Beijing is frustrated by what it sees as insufficient US preparation that may limit the landmark summit to trade agreements and leave key diplomatic and security matters untouched.
Chinese officials are dissatisfied with what they consider last-minute planning ahead of Mr Trump's arrival on March 31, according to a person familiar with the preparations.
The White House's lack of communication about the US leader's expectations for the visit has also been an issue for Beijing, said another person familiar with the matter, who was not authorised to speak publicly.
The Chinese frustrations stem, in part, from the White House's departure from Beijing's standard practice of hosting high-level US officials to lay the groundwork for a state visit. Before Mr Trump's last trip to China in 2017, for example, the US dispatched both a secretary of state and a commerce chief to China months before the US leader's arrival.
A White House official, granted anonymity to discuss the planning, said the Trump administration is very comfortable with trip prepar ations regarding both logistics and the policy outcomes the leaders intend to achieve.
China's Foreign Ministry said both sides "maintain communication on the interaction between the two heads of state", without elaborating.
An advance party of lower-level US officials arrived in Beijing earlier in March, according to people familiar with the matter. Their visit and Chinese irritation with the pace of planning were first reported by the South China Morning Post.
Sending a clear signal that both sides remain committed to the leaders' meeting, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng are also expected to convene this weekend in Paris for their latest round of talks, which have typically focused on trade.
In the absence of more elaborate coordination, business deals look set to become the main outcomes of the summit, including China's order of 500 jets from Boeing, Bloomberg News previously reported. Mr Trump is also hoping to strike an agreement for Nvidia to export its advanced H200 chips to non-military Chinese companies.
Also on the agenda could be Chinese investment in the US, the electric vehicle and battery sectors, artificial intelligence and people-to-people exchanges.
Mr Trump's planned visit to Beijing comes amid a flurry of activity in Washington. In recent weeks, he and his senior aides have launched a military campaign against Iran, scrambled to replace the President's signature tariff regime after its initial structure was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court and attempted to broker a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
Late in February, Mr Trump delivered his annual State of the Union addres s, kicking off a critical midterm election, and did not directly address China despite speaking for nearly two hours, a presidential record.
The concern among some China analysts is that the current format has left little time to lay the groundwork on thorny issues outside of tariffs and business deals.
"From a Chinese perspective this time, the No. 1 issue of our agenda would be Taiwan," said Professor Wu Xinbo, director at Fudan University's Center for American Studies in Shanghai, who has previously advised the Chinese Foreign Ministry. "Not trade. Not investment. Not technology."
Mr Xi expressed concerns over Washington's sales of weapons to the self-ruled d emocracy in February in a phone call with Mr Trump, urging him to treat the issue with the "utmost caution".
In an annual press conference on March 8, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi repeated Beijing's position that the territory it claims is "at the core of China's core interests", while calling on both sides to turn 2026 into a "landmark" year for ties.
While the lack of planning has sparked frustration in China, it is par for the course in Mr Trump's White House, where major events are often hastily arranged, and aides are loath to strike agreements or overly script meetings, knowing that the US leader sees spontaneity as an advantage and regularly pivots strategy.
That disparity has been on display in recent days, as Mr Trump declared the war with Iran "very complete, pretty much", a day after a CBS News interview with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth aired in which he said the strikes were "just the beginning".
Other cultural differences are longstanding. US diplomats across multiple administrations have historically expressed exasperation with China's preferred style for high-level meetings, which can often feature lengthy, scripted preludes and little dynamic conversation between leaders.
On March 9, Mr Trump indicated that he still intended to make the trip and that he was considering Chinese interests while navigating the Iran conflict – claiming his pledge to have the US Navy accompany ships through the Strait of Hormuz was rooted in protecting Beijing's access to energy.
"It doesn't pertain to us so much as it does to China. We're really helping China here and other countries because they get a lot of their energy from the straits," Mr Trump told reporters at his Doral resort in Florida.
"But, hey, look, we have a good relationship with China. It's my honour to do it."
Details of the summit have not been confirmed by Beijing, which normally releases details of the Chinese leader's itinerary only days in advance. China had previously proposed Mr Trump arrive at the end of April to allow more time for preparations, another person familiar with the matter said. BLOOMBERG
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