Trump and Xi are set to meet in DC. Why some China watchers have low expectations

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping tour Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing, China, May 15, 2026.China Pool | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump is slated to host Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House, and the stakes are sky high — but some China watchers are once again keeping their expectations low.That's even as the Iran war could loom larger than ever over the leaders' talks, in light of a new U.S. plan to aggressively sanction Iran's business partners — potentially including China, by far Tehran's biggest trading partner.But while the war threatens to rattle the superpowers' fragile relations, it may end up a smaller slice of the conversation, as it appeared to be when Trump and Xi met in Beijing four months ago.At that summit, Trump and a coterie of corporate leaders were lavishly feted by the Chinese but left with few concrete business deals or clear breakthroughs on the thorniest geopolitical issues, including Iran and Taiwan.This time, both sides still seem interested in avoiding moves that would risk torpedoing their current trade truce."The relationship increasingly produces transactions without trust and stability without settle...