There are once again high stakes meetings taking place in the far East. President Trump, along with cabinet members like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other corporate CEOs, are heading to Beijing for big talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. There, the two leaders will discuss all things related to Taiwan, trade, and the Iran War.

Joining the President will also be Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, as well as over a dozen other corporate bigwigs from Boeing, Meta and Blackrock. A big focus will be Iran, one of China's main allies, but one of the biggest topics will be trade relations. President Trump has been trying to right the decades-long trade imbalance between the two, and this time, he has more leverage than ever.

China expert and author Gordon Chang says this meeting comes at a time when China is reeling and becoming a bit desperate.

"We see that with an economy that is deteriorating, a communist party with a lot of infighting...and the Chinese people are just kind of gloomy right now," says Chang. "I think President Trump does not have to give up very much.

Surely, President trump did not plan to give up much anyway, but this adds fuel to that fire. The U.S. has China on the ropes. It is what Iran was always about from the start. The war has suffocated China back to the negotiating table to get fair deals done so American can prosper once again.

The tech CEOs and others will be there pitching their deals as well, trying to secure purchases to drive their business, our economy, while extending an olive branch to China.

But the biggest focus will be on their economy, and more specifically, how they get it going again. The U.S. holds that leverage. They broke their economy and they can fix it. But that means opening back up U.S. consumer access for the Chinese, which they desperately need.

"Xi Jinping has turned his back on consumption as the basis of the Chinese economy...which means his only hope for growth is to export more," Chang says.

The American consumer is the key cog in that operation. Because in America, we like to spend our money. Usually on Chinese made things.

"Americans account for about 30 to 32 percent of global consumer spending...that means China needs our market," says Chang. "President Trump should use that to get important benefits out of China...it is something he can use to great advantage."

It can also be used to help free Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong dissident. Chang hopes Lai can be freed and is in China's bests interests to do so.

Among the list of needs though in this summit is getting a deal done with China, one that benefits both of us and the rest of the world.

The President has already arrived in China and is st to meet with President Xi on Thursday.

San Antonio's First News