U.S. President Donald Trump shakes palms with members of Congress as he departs following his State of the Union deal with within the Home Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Feb. 24, 2026.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Photographs
BEIJING — U.S. President Donald Trump prevented immediately naming China in his State of the Union deal with Tuesday, simply weeks earlier than his scheduled journey to Beijing.
In what was the longest State of the Union (SOTU) speech by any U.S. president, Trump coated a spread of subjects from inflation and tariffs to inventory market information.
However notably, he didn’t immediately point out China, apart from a reference to “Russian and Chinese language navy expertise” that guarded Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro throughout the operation that led to the seize of the international chief.
Throughout Trump’s first time period from 2017 to 2021, he made direct references to the Chinese language nation in all three of his State of the Union addresses. The remarks had largely highlighted the menace from Beijing to the U.S.
“Trump does not wish to decide a battle with China in an election yr,” stated Gabriel Wildau, managing director, Teneo, referring to the approaching U.S. midterm elections in November.
“Stability in U.S.-China relations is a precedence for the president at the least this yr and probably for the remainder of his time period,” Wildau stated.
With the intention to keep that relationship, Trump plans to go to Beijing from March 31 to April 2, the primary journey by a U.S. president since 2017.
However China’s international ministry has but to substantiate actual dates for the go to, identified George Chen, accomplice at The Asia Group. “That makes Trump look extra determined to go to China greater than how a lot [Chinese president Xi Jinping] needs to host him.”
“The dearth of mentions about China in Trump’s speech is one other instance to point out how Trump stays cautious now about U.S.-China relations,” Chen stated.
China and the U.S. ratcheted up tariffs on every others’ items final spring to nicely over 100%, earlier than reaching a commerce truce in October to convey tariffs beneath 50% for the following yr. Beijing additionally tightened its restrictions on uncommon earths exports worldwide. The Asian nation dominates the worldwide provide chain for uncommon earths, vital minerals utilized in a swath of applied sciences.
“The state of the union confirmed Trump thinks glorifying U.S. navy triumphs over weak states like Venezuela makes higher election yr politics than preventing with China over uncommon earths,” Wildau stated.
Uncertainty round tariffs picked up over the weekend after the U.S. Supreme Courtroom final week struck down tariffs that Trump had imposed on a swath of nations final yr. Trump then shortly pointed to another foundation for elevating the worldwide tariff price.
In social media posts on Weibo, two Chinese language state media shops highlighted opposition inside Congress to Trump’s speech. Native consideration in China to Trump’s deal with was in any other case muted.
Trump’s restricted point out of China additionally displays how unpredictable his coverage on Beijing might be, stated Yue Su, principal economist on the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
“In contrast, [Democrat U.S. President Joe] Biden constantly referred to China in his speeches, which underscored a level of continuity and predictability in his China coverage,” she stated, referring to Trump’s predecessor.
The Democratic Social gathering’s rebuttal to Trump’s State of the Union Tuesday centered immediately on Beijing.
“However because the president spoke of his perceived successes tonight, he continues to cede financial energy and technological energy to Russia, bow all the way down to China, bow all the way down to a Russian dictator and make plans for struggle with Iran,” stated Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, who gave the rebuttal.
A giant deal coming?
For a U.S. president who has known as out Xi by identify in public speeches, the absence of mentioning the world’s second-largest economic system within the SOTU speech marks a strategic transfer.
If Trump seals a deal throughout his Beijing journey, “he may simply body it as a serious achievement for his base,” stated EIU’s Su. “And if negotiations don’t go nicely, a retaliatory or hardline strategy may very well be introduced in a equally optimistic mild domestically.”
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Steven Okun, founder and CEO of Singapore-based APAC Advisors, stated that this yr, the speech was understandably extra centered on subjects that influence the midterm elections, which do not embody China.
However he identified that if Trump actually wished to deal with U.S. shopper affordability, reducing tariffs on China would “present up a lot faster in folks’s pocketbooks.”
“So, we may even see a deal on tariffs with China finish of March or early April,” Okun stated Wednesday on CNBC’s “Entry Center East.”
Many U.S. firm executives are anticipated to accompany Trump on his journey to China in just a few weeks. Conferences with Chinese language counterparts might be a possibility to assist offers, together with Chinese language purchases of U.S. agricultural merchandise.
When requested about Trump’s restricted dialogue of China, Marko Papic, a chief strategist at world funding analysis agency BCA Analysis, merely stated: “A giant deal is coming!”
—CNBC’s Sydney Goh contributed to this report.
