Trump to Visit China in May 2026 for Xi Jinping Summit

Former US President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit China from May 14-15, 2026, for a summit with President Xi Jinping. This visit by a sitting US president to China would be the first in approximately 8 years and 6 months, since November 2017.

Separately, the North Korean women's football team 'Naegohyang' is set to visit South Korea on May 17th for the first time in 8 years to participate in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League (AWCL) semi-finals, with matches scheduled for May 20th at Suwon Sports Complex. The upcoming US-China summit is projected to be a diplomatic turning point determining the future direction of US-China relations, and attention is focused on the possibility of a simultaneous US-North Korea summit.

President Trump views alliances as transactional relationships. His pursuit of foreign policy achievements could serve as a variable increasing the likelihood of a US-North Korea summit. A meeting with Chairman Kim Jong Un could provide President Trump with a diplomatic success. Structural and strategic factors are likely to combine, leading to discussions about a potential Trump-Kim Jong Un summit.

An assessment of the summit's possibility requires an analysis of structural factors and strategic motivations. Factors that could increase or decrease the chances of a US-North Korea summit need to be examined from structural and strategic perspectives. The uncertainty regarding the agreement and schedule of the US-China summit acts as a factor reducing the possibility of a US-North Korea meeting. China is likely to focus the summit agenda on economic recovery and easing technology regulations, with less motivation to prioritize Korean Peninsula issues. Inviting Chairman Kim Jong Un during the US-China summit could pose diplomatic challenges for China.

The absence of mutual exchange value between the US and North Korea also presents a constraint on a summit. The US is facing dispersed diplomatic and security resources, and its capacity to offer sanctions relief or political concessions to North Korea is limited. North Korea has shown no confirmed willingness for denuclearization measures or military concessions, thus reducing the tangible benefits of a summit. Summits typically materialize when there is existing value to be exchanged, and currently, both the US and North Korea lack sufficient such value.

Chairman Kim Jong Un's observation of US willingness to use military force through the Middle East conflict situation could influence the possibility of an early meeting with President Trump.