BEIJING, May 7 - U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in May on his first visit to China in eight years.

Here is how the rivalry between the world's two biggest economies has unfolded since Trump returned to the White House in 2025.

DEVELOPMENTS THIS YEAR

MAY - China invokes anti-sanctions law to counter U.S. blacklisting of refiners, telling companies not to comply.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urges China to step up diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping.

APRIL - China's State Council gave authorities power to investigate and act against foreign countries, companies, or international bodies that "adopt discriminatory measures" undermining industrial and supply chains. It also authorised countermeasures against foreign countries for exercising "unlawful extraterritorial jurisdiction".

Chinese officials held initial talks with providers of equipment to make solar panels as they consider curbs on exports of the most advanced technology to the United States, Reuters reported.

U.S. sanctions some refineries in China for buying billions of dollars' worth of Iranian oil, blocking their U.S. assets and preventing Americans from doing business with them.

At the end of the month Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Bessent hold a video call featuring "candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges".

MARCH - U.S. launches new Section 301 unfair-trade investigations into Chinese industries, spurring reciprocal action by China. Trump delays Beijing visit to mid-May because of the Iran war.

Bessent and Greer meet He Lifeng and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang in Paris for a sixth round of talks that both sides described as "constructive".

FEBRUARY - U.S. Supreme Court rejects Trump's global tariff regime. Trump indicates he will still use tariffs.