Trump-Xi Meeting Likely Delayed To 2026 Despite Hints Of A Fall Summit Amid TikTok And Trade Tensions

A long-awaited meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is more likely to take place in 2026 than this fall, despite Trump hinting otherwise last week.

U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said Tuesday that while the presidents are “looking forward” to meeting, the timeline has shifted. He spoke alongside a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers on the first congressional trip to Beijing since 2019, according to a CNBC report.

The group, led by Rep. Adam Smith, met Premier Li Qiang and Vice Premier He Lifeng to discuss the recent Trump–Xi call, as well as tensions over TikTok’s ownership. Smith said communication between the two sides remains difficult, noting they are “still talking past each other.”

Last week, Trump said that trade talks in Madrid “went very well,” hinting at progress on a potential TikTok deal as a U.S. ban loomed. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed at the time that negotiators had reached a “framework” agreement to pivot TikTok toward U.S. ownership. 

The talks also drew attention after China’s antitrust regulator announced that Nvidia had violated monopoly rules, prompting concerns over the timing, as discussions were underway.

Perdue called the relationship between Trump and Xi “encouraging,” even as Beijing’s readout of their recent call made no mention of meeting plans that Trump outlined on social media.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘bullish’ for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI), with high message volume for SPY and low for MCHI, while sentiment on the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was ‘neutral’ despite high activity.

So far this year, SPY is up 14.8% and QQQ has gained 18.2%, while MCHI has outperformed with a 38.9% rise.

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