CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: Three major shifts from the Trump-Xi meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) gestures to China's President Xi Jinping as he leaves after a visit to Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15, 2026. Evan Vucci | Afp | Hi, this is Evelyn, writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection — a succinct snapshot of what I'm seeing and hearing from local businesses. U.S. President Donald Trump has left Beijing after a highly anticipated two-day visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Fanfare aside, what's changed for business? The big story After a momentous Trump-Xi summit in Beijing last week with over a dozen American executives in tow, the U.S. and Chinese readouts agree on one phrase: constructive strategic stability . But what does that really mean? From an economic and trade perspective, the term amounts to "a form of commercial détente," James Zimmerman, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, told me. In practical terms, it signals intent to talk and creates room to resolve disputes without a return to trade war uncertainty — a boost for business confidence, he said. China emphasized that the framework would set the tone for at least three years, or the rest of Trump's presidency. "This is a fundamental change from the previous unilateral definition of strategic competition," said Hai Zhao, a director of international political studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a state-affiliated think tank. …