Rubio says US will urge Beijing to be more 'active' in resolving Iran war – report
Marco Rubio stated that American officials intend to persuade China to adopt a more "active role" in resolving the conflict in Iran, according to reports.
The US secretary of state told the network from aboard Air Force One en route to Beijing that the US had presented its case to Beijing on why it should engage in efforts to ease tensions with Iran.
“It’s in their interest to resolve this,” Rubio said.
“We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf.”
Among the prominent tech leaders who eventually flew to Beijing with Trump on Air Force One is Jensen Huang, the president and CEO of Nvidia.
Trump reportedly picked up Huang in Alaska en route to the Beijing summit while the presidential plane was refueling. Trump asked Huang at the last minute to join the trip, according to a source. Huang was not initially listed among the traveling executives provided by the White House.
Various media outlets had reported Huang’s apparent omission after the plane had departed for Alaska and Beijing. Trump later posted from Air Force One confirming Huang was onboard and denied that the CEO had not been invited.
The Nvidia CEO maintains a close relationship with Trump, but in April Huang criticized US restrictions on chip sales to China, expressing that he did not want a "decoupling". The sale of US semiconductors to China is believed to be a key agenda item for the summit.
Security and air quality in Beijing
Here are some photos of US snipers and other security forces overseeing Air Force One while it refueled on Tuesday at Joint Base Elmendorf in Anchorage, Alaska.
Donald Trump will travel through a Chinese capital that is smoggier than during his last visit in 2017, when authorities launched emergency measures to clear pollution days before his first state visit to Beijing.
Factories were ordered to halt production and heavily polluting cars were banned from the roads ahead of the US president’s trip nearly a decade ago. At that time, China had declared war on air pollution and made special efforts to clear the skies ahead of important political events such as visiting dignitaries and the Beijing Olympics.
No such efforts have been made this year. The air quality index in the capital is over 150 today, well above the World Health Organization’s guidelines for healthy air, enveloping the city in a greyish smog containing pollutants harmful to human health.
In recent years, China’s fight against air pollution has slowed, partly because significant improvements have already been made: last year, average levels of PM2.5 in Beijing—the most harmful particulate in air pollution—dropped below 30 for the first time since records began more than a decade ago.
However, heavily polluted skies remain fairly common, and a visit from the US president no longer prompts special pollution control measures.
Trump’s schedule and summit overview
Trump is about to begin the busiest part of his trip. He arrived in Beijing late on Wednesday, but the summit officially begins on Thursday.
Xi Jinping will formally welcome the US president during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, reportedly starting at 10 a.m. local time—just under 45 minutes away—followed by bilateral talks.
The day will also include cultural programming, such as a visit to the Temple of Heaven, and conclude with a state banquet.
This visit is expected to be rich in pageantry and symbolism, as reported by the Associated Press, though neither side has yet disclosed concrete details on the outcomes Trump or Xi will achieve.
The press filing center at the World Hotel in Beijing is set up with two American flags and a wooden lectern bearing a "United States embassy Beijing" seal, placed on a black podium against a black curtain beneath a large crystal chandelier.
Televisions on either side of the podium show CNN and Fox News. Unfortunately, this is as close as many reporters will get to witnessing Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in action today.
There is no guarantee that anyone will appear at the lectern to brief the media, who are seated at 10 rows of desks covered with blue tablecloths.
The busiest person here today is an IT consultant from AT&T, fielding journalists’ questions about VPNs attempting to circumvent China’s Great Firewall.
Western media personnel have access to nearby creature comforts. The hotel connects to a luxury mall featuring Peet’s Coffee, Starbucks, Chanel, Dior, Jimmy Choo, Gucci, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Burberry, Armani, Givenchy, and Hugo Boss.
Greetings from Beijing, where the day began with CNN coverage of Chinese social media mocking the US and portraying it as a fading superpower.
CNN noted that China’s strict internet censors had apparently allowed these comments to appear. However, the TV signal briefly "lost signal," which seemed suspicious, though coverage soon resumed.
Outside a lift on the 10th floor of the press hotel, the reporter encountered Jacqui Heinrich, senior White House correspondent for Fox News. She had traveled with Trump on the long Air Force One flight but noted that, unusually, he did not visit the press cabin to "gaggle" with reporters.
Perhaps Trump was occupied with Elon Musk, or White House chief of staff Susie Wiles intervened to prevent any offhand comments about Taiwan.
Trump's arrival in Beijing – in pictures
Here are images of Donald Trump’s welcome in China after arriving aboard Air Force One at Beijing Capital International Airport on Wednesday night.
The president is traveling with a delegation reportedly including:
- Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and SpaceX CTO
- Dina Powell McCormick, Meta president and vice chairman
- Larry Fink, BlackRock chairman and CEO
- Other banking, finance, and tech executives
According to a partial list provided by the White House, others aboard Air Force One include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and senior adviser Stephen Miller.
Also onboard were Eric and Lara Trump, alongside an array of White House advisers, strategists, speechwriters, and communications executives.
Iran war and other key issues at the Trump-Xi summit
One of Trump’s pressing concerns during his visit to Beijing is finding a way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which half of China’s crude oil passes.
China has been more insulated from the energy shock than other Asian countries due to its diversified energy mix and large stockpiles. However, the risk of a global recession—which the International Monetary Fund has identified as a possible outcome of the Iran war—poses a greater threat to China’s economy.
Approximately one-fifth of China’s GDP comes from exports. If the global economy slows and consumers reduce spending on goods, China will be adversely affected.
There is speculation that Trump might seek Beijing’s assistance to end the war involving China-allied Iran. However, the US president told reporters before departing the White House on Tuesday:
“I don’t think we need any help with Iran. We’ll win it one way or the other – peacefully or otherwise.”
Trump also sought to downplay divisions with Beijing, stating that Xi had been "relatively good" during the crisis.
’s senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins, has analyzed the major issues set to be discussed during the summit, which begins later today.
The Trump-Xi summit will span two days. It was originally scheduled for late March or early April but was delayed due to the Iran war.
Now that Trump is in Beijing, here are some challenges the US president faces.
Donald Trump’s state visit to China this week is the first by a US president in nearly a decade and occurs amid geopolitical upheaval, an ongoing Middle East war, and a sometimes tense relationship between the world’s two major superpowers.
In addition to discussions about Iran, Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to address trade and tariffs, Taiwan, and artificial intelligence.
Stay with us as we cover this high-stakes visit. It is approaching 8:10 a.m. in Beijing.
