U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a summit on the 14th local time at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and covered a wide range of issues on bilateral ties and global affairs. In the 2-hour, 15-minute meeting, the two sides aligned on some areas including economic cooperation, blocking fentanyl, and stability in the Strait of Hormuz. But they could not even issue a joint statement on core sticking points such as Taiwan and tariff. Experts said the separate readouts each country released right after the talks showed that "the very makeup of the agenda was different, so the two countries effectively split issues into those on which they could agree and those they could not."
President Trump visited China for the first time in about nine years since Nov. 2017. The U.S. and Chinese leaders met again six months after their summit held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan in October last year. In his opening remarks, Trump said, "The relationship between the United States and China will be better than ever, and together we will build a fantastic future." Xi responded, saying, "Success is an opportunity for each other, and stability in bilateral relations benefits the world." At the state dinner immediately after the talks, Trump extended a formal invitation to Xi to visit the White House on Sept. 24. Xi last visited the White House in Sept. 2015, during the Barack Obama administration.
According to a readout the White House posted on X after the meeting, the two countries agreed on economic steps to expand U.S. corporations' access to the Chinese market and increase China's purchases of U.S. agricultural products, and to cooperate to block the inflow of fentanyl precursors into the United States. On security, they agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open and reaffirmed the principle that Iran must not possess nuclear weapons. Indicating opposition to militarizing Hormuz and imposing transit fees, Xi also signaled a willingness to increase purchases of U.S. crude oil.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on the day of the summit that "China is set to place a large order with Boeing, and the issue of non-tariff barriers related to imports of U.S. beef and soybeans was also addressed in the talks." An agenda item to manage economic conflicts in non-sensitive areas by setting up a U.S.-China trade committee and investment committee also made it to the table. Ahead of the meeting, there was talk of negotiating tariff cuts on about $3 billion (about 4.1 trillion won) worth of imports, but it did not appear in either country's readout.
Right after the summit, Li Qiang, premier of the China State Council, separately met with executives from 17 U.S. corporations accompanying Trump's delegation, including Apple, Nvidia, Meta, Boeing, Cargill, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock. In his opening remarks, Xi stressed his intent to improve conditions for foreign corporations' activities, saying, "The door for corporations in China will open even wider."
However, the gap between the two sides was clear on the Taiwan issue. During the talks, Xi said, "The Taiwan issue is the most important matter in China-U.S. relations. If handled well, overall stability in bilateral relations can be maintained, but if handled poorly, it can trigger confrontation and conflict and put the entire relationship at great risk." Xi went so far as to say that "Taiwan independence and peace are like water and fire that cannot coexist."
By contrast, the White House readout omitted Taiwan-related content. After visiting the Temple of Heaven, Trump did not answer when reporters asked whether Taiwan had been discussed. In Dec. last year, the United States approved $1.1 billion (about 1.5 trillion won) in arms sales to Taiwan and is pushing an additional $1.4 billion (about 1.9 trillion won) in sales.
They also mentioned the Iran war, but actual agreement stayed at the level of principles. The White House said both sides affirmed the principle that Iran must not possess nuclear weapons and the need to keep Hormuz open. But the Chinese readout was limited to one line: "They exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East." China is the largest importer of Iranian crude. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC that day, "The United States did not ask China for help on the Iran issue."
Experts analyzed that the two countries effectively drew a line between "areas of possible agreement" and "areas to patch over conflict" in this summit. Xi put forward the concept of "constructive and strategically stable U.S.-China relations," saying "this relationship will provide strategic guidance for bilateral ties for more than the next three years." The two leaders will wrap up this summit schedule with a tea chat and working lunch on the morning of the 15th. They plan to meet again when Xi pays a return visit to the White House on Sept. 24, at the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, in November, and at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Miami, the United States, in December.