With three weeks until Donald Trump meets Xi Jinping, Beijing is frustrated by what it sees as insufficient U.S. preparation that may limit the landmark summit to trade agreements and leave key diplomatic and security matters untouched.

Chinese officials are dissatisfied with what they consider last-minute planning ahead of Trump’s arrival on March 31, according to one person familiar with the preparations. The White House’s lack of communication about Trump’s expectations for the visit has also been an issue for Beijing, said a separate person familiar with the matter, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

The Chinese frustrations stem, in part, from the White House’s departure from Beijing’s standard practice of hosting U.S. high-level officials to lay the groundwork for a state visit. Before Trump’s last trip to China in 2017, the U.S. dispatched both a secretary of state and commerce chief to China months before the U.S. leader’s arrival.

A White House official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the planning, said the Trump administration is very comfortable with trip preparations regarding both logistics and policy outcomes. China’s Foreign Ministry said both sides “maintain communication on the interaction between the two heads of state,” without elaborating.

As preparation now get underway, an advance party of lower-level U.S. officials arrived in Beijing earlier this month, according to people familiar with the matter. Their visit and Chinese irritation with the pace of planning were first reported by the South China Morning Post.

Sending a clear signal both sides remain committed to the leaders’ meeting, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are also expected to convene this weekend in Paris for their latest round of talks that have typically been focused on trade.

In the absence of more elaborate coordination, business deals look set to become the main outcomes of the summit, including China’s order of 500 jets from Boeing Co., Bloomberg News previously reported. Trump is also hoping to strike an agreement for Nvidia Corp. to export its advanced H200 chips to nonmilitary Chinese companies.

Also on the agenda could be Chinese investment in the U.S., electric vehicle and battery sectors, as well as artificial intelligence and people-to-people exchanges.

The concern among some China analysts is the current format has left little time to lay the groundwork on thorny issues outside of tariffs and business deals.

“From a Chinese perspective this time, the No. 1 issue of our agenda would be Taiwan,” said Wu Xinbo, director at Fudan University’s Center for American Studies in Shanghai who has previously advised the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “Not trade. Not investment. Not technology.”

Xi expressed concerns over Washington’s sales of weapons to the self-ruled democracy last month in a phone call with Trump, urging him to treat the issue with the “utmost caution.” In an annual press conference on Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi repeated Beijing’s position that the territory it claims is “at the core of China’s core interests,” while calling on both sides to turn 2026 into a “landmark” year for ties.

A Taiwanese official on Tuesday said a recent rare absence of Chinese military aircraft near the self-ruled democracy was possibly a move by Beijing to ease tensions ahead of the U.S. leader’s arrival this month.

Planning for Trump’s visit to Beijing coincides with a flurry of activity in Washington.

In recent weeks, the Republican leader and his top aides have launched a military campaign against Iran, rushed to replace the president’s signature tariff regime after its initial structure was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court and attempted to broker a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. Late last month, Trump delivered his annual State of the Union address — kicking off a critical midterm election — and did not directly address China despite speaking for nearly two hours, a presidential record.

While the lack of planning has sparked frustration in China, it’s par for the course in Trump’s White House, where major events are often hastily arranged and aides are loath to strike agreements or overly script meetings, knowing the U.S. president sees spontaneity as an advantage and regularly pivots strategy.

That disparity has been on display in recent days, as Trump declared the war with Iran “very complete, pretty much” one day after a CBS News interview with Pete Hegseth aired in which the Pentagon chief said the strikes were “just the beginning.”

Other cultural differences are longstanding. U.S. diplomats across multiple administrations have historically expressed exasperation with China’s preferred style for high-level meetings, which can often feature lengthy, scripted preludes and little dynamic conversation between leaders.

Still, Trump on Monday indicated he was committed to making the trip and was considering Chinese interests while navigating the Iran conflict — claiming his pledge to have the U.S. Navy accompany ships through the Strait of Hormuz was rooted in protecting Beijing’s access to energy.

“It doesn’t pertain to us so much as it does to China. We’re really helping China here and other countries because they get a lot of their energy from the straits,” Trump told reporters at his Doral resort in Florida. “But, hey, look, we have a good relationship with China. It’s my honor to do it.”

Details of the summit haven’t been confirmed by Beijing, which normally releases details of the Chinese leader’s itinerary only days in advance. China had previously proposed Trump arriving at the end of April to allow more time for preparations, a separate person familiar with the matter said.

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(With assistance from Yian Lee.)

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