Donald Trump is already in China: What are his purposes?

Not wanting Iran to dominate his visit, Trump postponed the planned trip to China in March to give time to the war he said would be resolved within a few weeks. Months later, a peace deal remains elusive, and Trump says the ceasefire with Iran is in “massive life support”.

Asked why Trump is continuing on this trip, a senior American official said: “Why not continue with all the other tasks he has as president of the US? ” and noted that the conflict was on “ ” when the trip was initially postponed.

While leaders are expected to present trade agreements Trump can present as victory in the country, Iran will likely dominate the talks. The US continues the blockade at Hormuz Strait, which has major implications for China, the largest consumer of Iranian oil. The leadership meeting comes just days after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arghchi travelled to Beijing, underlining close ties between the two countries.

Trump is expected to encourage Xi Jinping to pressure Iran to reopen the strait and accept a peace deal.

“I would expect the president to pressure”, the US official said, referring to a recent announcement of sanctions targeting individuals and companies helping Iran's efforts to obtain weapons and other raw materials.

Some American officials have expressed concern that Trump is entering a meeting where Xi has the advantage and that the Chinese leader can use this influence to get what he wants in a big case for Beijing: Taiwan.

He's going to mention Taiwan, I think, more than I'm going to say”, Trump told reporters Monday.