Biden to meet with China’s Xi at Peru summit — ahead of Trump tariffs and COVID reparations push

WASHINGTON — Retiring President Biden will meet one last time with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of this week’s APEC summit in Peru — as President-elect Donald Trump threatens to slap new tariffs on Chinese goods and force the Asian nation to pay “reparations” for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biden, 81, and Xi, 71, will meet on Saturday in Lima — and administration officials say the US president plans to take a victory lap on a reduction in fentanyl overdose deaths this year after Xi privately agreed to restrict shipments of the lethal opioid last year at another Biden sitdown.

More than 223,000 US residents died from fentanyl and related compounds during Biden’s first three years in office, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, and Republican politicians slammed Biden early in his term for not doing more to halt the flow.

President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet for a final time in Lima, Peru, on Saturday. REUTERS

“We expect the president will use the opportunity to take stock of efforts to responsibly manage competition over the last four years and how the two countries have advanced areas of shared interest,” a US official said.

“These steps are helping us combat the global fentanyl crisis at home and contributed to the decline in overdose deaths and disruption in the supply of illicit fentanyl that we’ve seen over the last year.”

Bide and Xi also are expected to discuss artificial intelligence and global warming — as Trump routinely scoffs at China’s lack of commitment to reducing its own fossil fuels use.

“On AI, the two sides have recognized the novel risks posed … and have begun to have difficult but productive conversations about AI safety and risk,” the US official added.

“On climate, our country’s envoys have also had deep and meaningful discussions over the past four years, leading to three far-ranging joint statements that have set the stage for climate commitments on greenhouse gas reductions, peak emissions and renewable energy.”

Trump has been deeply skeptical of international agreements that commit the US to reducing its use of fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. During his first term of office, the 45th president withdrew from the Paris Climate Accords, arguing that China wasn’t being held to the same standards.

Biden and Xi previously met in Bali in 2022 and near San Francisco in 2023. AFP via Getty Images

Biden ultimately kept in place Trump’s first-term tariffs on China and even added some new ones in May as he was seeking re-election, before ultimately dropping out of the campaign two months later.

Trump in 2018 imposed a 25% tariff on steel and 10% tariff on aluminum from most countries, including China. He later imposed tariffs between 7.5% and 25% on Chinese goods comprising $362 billion of annual imports, or more than half of the total.

In May, Biden announced tariffs on roughly $18 billion in annual Chinese imports — including metals such as steel and aluminum and green-energy technologies such as solar panels and electric vehicle, as well as other goods including certain semiconductors, construction cranes and medical products.

Over the next two years under those Biden tariffs, electric vehicles will face a 100% tariff, solar panel parts will be slapped with a 50% import levy and other goods with a 25% penalty.

When Trump retakes power in January, he is expected to take a more direct approach to pressuring China, though he also has spoken of the importance of maintaining a good personal relationship with Xi.

The meeting was announced as President-elect Donald Trump visited Biden at the White House. AP

Biden and Xi previously met in Bali, Indonesia, in 2022 and outside San Francisco last year.

Biden didn’t publicly press Xi at either of his previous meetings to curb fentanyl exports, but walked away from the second meeting with an agreement to do so — after Trump also claimed during his term that Xi had agreed to a crackdown, though one did not materialize after the Republican lost to Biden in the 2020 election and US deaths surged as the compound increasingly was cut into non-opioid drugs, killing unwitting Americans.

Biden also did not publicly press Xi to be transparent on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, which parts of the US government believe began with a lab leak in Wuhan, China, ultimately killing more than 1 million Americans and causing massive social, economic and educational upheaval.

Trump has threatened new tariffs and “reparations” for COVID-19. AP

Trump has floated forcing China to pay $50 trillion in “reparations” for the virus and called for a “global summit” on the topic last year.

The president-elect and his congressional allies have regularly accused Biden of being insufficiently tough on China due to the fact that state-owned companies paid millions to first son Hunter Biden and first brother James Biden during and immediately after Joe Biden’s vice presidency.

Joe Biden met with leaders of both major Chinese business ventures involving his relatives — and in an infamous 2017 email, one of Hunter’s associates outlined a 10% cut for the “big guy” in a proposed joint venture.

Trump claimed last year that Biden “was bribed and now he’s being blackmailed” by Beijing, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told The Post that Biden was “soft” on China and that “it probably has something to do with business relationships and may very well involve Hunter and James Biden and some of the deals they made over there.”

Biden’s looming meeting with Xi was announced as the outgoing president welcomed Trump to the White House for a conversation on the presidential transition, with the men swapping kind words during a brief press availability in the Oval Office.

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

Nvidia’s trillion-dollar run puts pressure on the bulls

BEIJING, CHINA – MAY 14: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (C) gestures as he prepares to depart following a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China. President Trump is meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing to address the Iran conflict, trade imbalances, and the Taiwan situation

Permutations in Europe: What’s still at stake in final weeks of season?

There’s still plenty to play for across Europe as we head into the final matches of the club season. Here are all the title races, Champions League fights, and relegation battles left to be decided in the top leagues this month. This story will be updated until the end of the campaign. 👉 Jump to:EPL

Brewing a Better Half-Gallon Batch

Today I finally ran an experiment I’ve wanted to try for a long time. If you’re a professional barista—or you run a busy café—this may save you some time. Most coffee shops use 1–1.5 gallon batch brewers (Bunn, Curtis, Fetco, etc.). When I opened Short Sleeves Coffee, I intentionally avoided brewing full 1-gallon batches. I

5 Frozen Breakfasts Chefs Say Keep You Full All Morning

Chef-approved frozen breakfasts with more protein and better ingredients. Eating a healthy breakfast every morning is a great way to start the day, but most people don’t have time to cook. Whether you’re rushing out the door in the morning for work, taking the kids to school or both, there’s usually not much time in

CA scales back plan to ban student use of cell phones

By Carolyn Jones, CalMatters This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Until last month, California was poised to join nearly a dozen other states that ban cell phones in K-12 schools. But under pressure from school boards and administrators, lawmakers scaled back a bill that would have required such a

BulkQuant Launches AI Trading Bot for Crypto, Forex, and Stock Markets

BulkQuant Launches AI Trading Bot for Crypto, Forex, and Stock Markets

London, United Kingdom, May 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BulkQuant has officially launched its AI trading bot platform designed for crypto, forex, and stock market traders seeking a simpler way to automate trading strategies across multiple financial markets. The platform combines AI-powered quantitative analysis, automated trade execution, portfolio monitoring, and adaptive risk management into a

IMF lauds resilient Hong Kong economy but warns of risks linked to Middle East war

IMF lauds resilient Hong Kong economy but warns of risks linked to Middle East war

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lauded the resilience of Hong Kong’s economy, noting a sustained recovery despite economic activity having yet to return to pre-Covid levels, while warning of downside risks stemming from escalating geopolitical tensions. It also urged Hong Kong to pursue medium-term financial reforms, including the introduction of a goods and services

Smithsonian Presidents Exhibit Reopens With Low-Key Trump Impeachment Mention

For the past year, the Smithsonian Institution has found itself in the awkward position of telling the nation’s story while being supported in part by a government that wants to narrow how that story is told. In December, the White House threatened to revoke funding to the institution if it did not hand over a

Marvel’s Daredevil Follow-up Is Already Dominating on Streaming

A follow-up to Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 on Disney+ has become a massive streaming success within days of its launch. The Punisher: One Last Kill has quickly climbed to the top of multiple charts, beating out other titles on the platform. The MCU television special follows the gun-toting vigilante, who finds himself targeted by

Is Now a Bad Time to Invest?

The market has been on a roll lately, with the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) setting new highs throughout May. If you think you missed your opportunity when the market bottomed in late March, don’t fret. The market hitting new all-time highs is not particularly rare and should not change your investment strategy. And if you

6 bids for Hong Kong land sale signal renewed confidence despite market caution

6 bids for Hong Kong land sale signal renewed confidence despite market caution

The Hong Kong government’s first land sale in the current financial year has drawn six bids, according to the Development Bureau, including those from the city’s largest developers, suggesting a more confident outlook for the residential property market. At the close of tender for Tung Chung Town Lot No 54 at Area 106A on Friday

Each Premier League team reranked: Man City rise; Chelsea, Liverpool collapse

Ryan O’Hanlon Close Ryan O’Hanlon ESPN.com writer Ryan O’Hanlon is a staff writer for ESPN.com. He’s also the author of “Net Gains: Inside the Beautiful Game’s Analytics Revolution.”  and  Bill Connelly Close Bill Connelly ESPN Staff Writer Bill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at

Trump departs China after two-day summit

Trump departs China after two-day summit

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Trump Wraps China Summit With Xi Jinping: What Are the Results? 05:41 Xi gives Trump rare tour of secret garden at heart of Chinese government 01:04 Now Playing Trump departs China after two-day summit 01:01 UP NEXT Special Report: Trump

Carol Chow was facing a bankruptcy petition by five people over unspecified debts at the time of her death. Photo: Dickson Lee

Embattled Hong Kong developer sued for HK$130 million, days after founder’s death

A Hong Kong property developer has been sued for HK$130 million (US$16.6 million) over allegedly breaching guarantor obligations in two bond subscription agreements, becoming the latest lawsuit to implicate the embattled company and following its founder’s sudden death earlier this week. Lofter Group, known for its urban renewal projects across the city’s core districts, and

Trump’s China visit left chip export issue unresolved

This report is from this week’s The Tech Download newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here. One look at the roster of U.S. execs that cozied up to U.S. President Donald Trump on the 20+ hours flight from Alaska to China on Wednesday and you get a sense of the American delegation’s key focus

Why the Cerebras IPO matters for the AI race with China

Why the Cerebras IPO matters for the AI race with China

Cerebras, an AI chipmaker, saw its shares nearly double on Nasdaq, closing up 70% with a $95B market cap. Cerebras’s powerful chips are key in the US-China AI tech race. Chris Buskirk, co-founder and chief investment officer of 1789 Capital, a key Cerebras investor, says the company’s IPO is geopolitically significant. On Thursday, shares of

Fitbit Air vs Whoop Strap Comparison: Price, Features and AI

The Google Fitbit Air is very much the talk of the fitness tracking town right now, not only because it’s the first new Fitbit device that we’ve had in years, but it’s also one of the first big brands to go head-to-head with the established Whoop Strap (if you don’t count the Polar Loop and

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x