- The Temple of Heaven projects China’s imperial legitimacy.
- Xi chooses a historical setting rich in cultural symbolism.
- The president of the United States hopes that China will make more purchases of crops.
Chinese emperors once prayed for bountiful harvests under the three-eave, blue-tiled roof of Beijing’s Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, in sacred rites that affirmed their mandate to rule.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will walk the same imperial terrain inside Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, as both leaders seek a different kind of harvest at a high-stakes summit.
For Xi, hosting Trump there offers a setting rich with messages about the resilience and depth of China’s civilization. For Trump, the scenario has a more literal resonance: Agriculture will be high on his list of priorities, and American farmers will seek greater Chinese purchases of soybeans, other crops and meat.
“As a Chinese leader, this is the perfect backdrop to show the depth of Chinese history and how long it is, how sophisticated it is,” said Lars Ulrik Thom, a Beijing-based historian and founder of the historical walking tour company Beijing Postcards.
Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday ahead of his meetings on Thursday and Friday. According to the White House, the two leaders will visit the Temple of Heaven on Thursday.
Trump is heading to China with his ambitions weakened by court rulings on tariffs, narrowing his goals to a few deals on beans, meat and Boeing planes, and enlisting China’s help to resolve his unpopular war with Iran, analysts say.
Xi could overcome all obstacles for pageantry-loving Trump
In 2017, Xi and his wife gave Trump and the first lady a rare private tour of the Forbidden City, the former home of China’s emperors.
Analysts are watching whether Xi, who enters the talks projecting more confidence than Trump, will again go all out for the mercurial American leader known for his love of pageantry and pageantry.
Located about 7 kilometers (4.35 miles) south of the Forbidden City, the temple was built in 1420 under the same Ming emperor responsible for the construction of the imperial palace.
Surrounded by ancient pine and cypress trees, today it is a popular tourist site and a park where Pekingese practice tai chi, play chess or dance.
During dynastic rule, emperors once a year went in procession from the Forbidden City to the Temple of Heaven, with an entourage of thousands of men and elephant chariots, to perform a religious ceremony affirming their right to rule.
That right was not unconditional: poor harvests, famine, or disorder could reflect poorly on an emperor’s position.
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Temple’s best-known monument, was rebuilt in the late 19th century with tall redwood imported from the United States, Thom said.
American farmers want China to buy more of their crop
After the tour, Trump will seek to get greater commitments from Xi on purchases of soybeans, grains and meat.
China is the top market for American farmers, receiving about $24 billion of their products in 2024 before Trump took office. Beijing has frozen much of that trade and reduced its need for American supplies, using it as a powerful lever against Trump’s tariffs.
Soybean farmers will be watching as China makes good on last year’s commitment to buy 25 million metric tons of soybeans a year through 2028. Larger Chinese purchases could appease distressed American farmers, who are among Trump’s largest constituency, ahead of November’s midterm elections.
For Xi, the place offers more than an imperial landscape.
“It’s a very good backdrop to tell Donald Trump and the world that China is here and has been here for thousands of years,” Thom said.
