The Tamesis
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned at the start of a summit with US President Donald Trump that the Taiwan issue could plunge the two countries into “conflict” if not handled properly.
Trump arrived in Beijing on Thursday and heaped praise on his host, praising Xi Jinping as a “great leader” and “friend” while declaring that the two countries would have a “wonderful future” together.
But Xi appeared more focused on bilateral competition and some of the challenging issues the two sides will discuss at the two-day summit. As was widely predicted, Taiwan was his top concern.
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Xi said the two sides “should be partners, not competitors” and immediately highlighted the issue of self-ruled democratic Taiwan – which Beijing claims as its territory.
“The Taiwan issue is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
“If not handled properly, the two countries may collide or even conflict, pushing the entire Sino-US relationship into a highly dangerous situation.”
The trip to Beijing was the first by a U.S. president in nearly a decade, and the grand reception belied a series of unresolved trade and geopolitical tensions between the two countries.
Xi Jinping held a red carpet welcome ceremony at the splendid Great Hall of the People, with a military band blaring, a gun salute firing, and a group of schoolchildren jumping and shouting “Welcome!”
Trump seemed to enjoy the ceremony, saying “China-U.S. relations will be better than ever.”
Instead, Xi cited ancient Greek political theory that there is a risk of war when a rising power competes with a dominant power, and he questioned whether China and the United States can find ways to cooperate as equals.
Xi Jinping asked: “Can China and the United States transcend the so-called ‘Thucydides Trap’ and create a new paradigm for major power relations?” He added, “Both will benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation.”
The latter has been the case frequently since Trump’s last visit in 2017, with the two countries locked in a dizzying trade war for much of 2025 and at odds over a host of major global issues.
Xi Jinping later welcomed progress in bilateral trade talks and told a delegation of U.S. executives accompanying Trump that he would further open up the Chinese economy, something China has repeatedly promised but failed to deliver on for years.
Taiwan, Iran
Taiwan is a long-standing sore point. The United States only recognizes Beijing, but according to domestic law, it must provide weapons to Taiwan so that Taiwan can defend itself.
China has vowed to seize Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force, increasing military pressure on the region in recent years.
Trump said on Monday he would discuss U.S. arms sales to Taiwan with Xi Jinping, a departure from the U.S.’s historical insistence that Beijing would not be consulted on support for Taiwan.
A new member has been added to the list of controversial issues, iran warthreatening to weaken Trump’s position in negotiations, has forced him to postpone a March visit.
The US president said he expected to have a “long talk” with Xi Jinping about Iran, which sells most of its US-sanctioned oil to China, but insisted “I don’t think we need any help from Beijing with regard to Iran”.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been considered a fierce opponent of Beijing throughout his career, but his tone is different.
“We want to convince them to take a more active role and get Iran to abandon what they’re doing and what they’re trying to do now in the Persian Gulf,” Rubio said in a Fox News interview that aired Wednesday.
trade and tariffs
Trump’s top wish for the summit will be business deals on agriculture, aircraft and other topics.
U.S. leaders’ delegation of elite business peopleOn Thursday, people including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Tesla’s Elon Musk attended a welcoming ceremony on the stairs of the Great Hall of the People.
Musk told reporters afterward that the meeting was “wonderful,” while Huang said the two presidents were “unbelievable.”
The long-simmering trade war between the two countries will also come to the fore after Trump’s sweeping tariffs last year triggered tit-for-tat tariffs of more than 100%.
Trump, Xi Jinping extend discussions for another year tariff truceThe two leaders reached the agreement during their last meeting in South Korea in October, although a deal is far from certain.
China’s controls on rare earth exports and competition in artificial intelligence are other topics the two heads of state are expected to discuss.
Trump will join Xi at a state dinner in the evening and will also visit the historic Temple of Heaven, a World Heritage site where the Chinese emperor once prayed for a good harvest.
- AFP Additional input and editing by Jim Pollard
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