Trump–Xi negotiations: Ukraine postponed

1. The main outcome of the hour-and-a-half meeting was the launch of a dialogue on a one-year moratorium on trade conflicts. Trump pledged not to impose new tariffs for a year, while China agreed to lift restrictions on rare earth exports. This indicates that both sides have agreed to pursue a constructive dialogue.

2. To better understand the tone of the meeting, here are two headlines from the Russian-language version of Xinhua: “Xi Jinping calls for confident progress in the giant ship of Sino–U.S. relations” and “China’s development goes hand in hand with Trump’s vision of ‘Making America Great Again’ — Xi Jinping.”

3. The one-year moratorium marks the start of a lengthy negotiation process that Trump aims to conclude before the U.S. presidential election on November 4, 2026. Xi, in turn, understands that Trump is operating within a limited timeframe. Therefore, major decisions are unlikely to take shape before May–June 2026.

4. Official Beijing did not mention Ukraine at all — a predictable outcome. As I have repeatedly said for months, Ukraine must develop its own vision of future relations with China in order to accelerate pressure from Beijing on Moscow.

5. A complex negotiation process is now beginning — one in which Ukraine is not a top priority for either side. We are viewed primarily within the broader context of European security.

6. After the February incident in the Oval Office, Ukraine managed to become part of the U.S. electoral agenda, entering the list of Washington’s key priorities. Ukraine's next task is to become — in a positive sense — part of Beijing’s priorities. This, however, requires a change in our policy toward China.

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About the author: Vadym Denysenko, political scientist

The editorial team does not necessarily share the opinions expressed by the author.