‘Never mess it up’: What Xi and Trump said on day one of Beijing talks

It would be unprecedented for the US president to travel to China twice in one year.

Their countries’ ties

Xi and Trump agreed to frame their relationship as “constructive, strategic and stable” in a new positioning that is intended to guide US-China ties for the next three years and beyond, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement about talks between the two.

Trump said the relationship between the two countries went back to the founding of the US, noting that the early American traders who visited China were described, by the Chinese, as “the new people”.

Today, he said, the two countries’ bilateral ties were among “the most consequential” in the world.

The Chinese president said the two countries should become partners, rather than rivals, adding that “mutual respect is key to stable China-US ties”.

“I have always believed that the common interests between China and the US outweigh the differences,” Xi said.

“Let 2026 be a historic and landmark year for Sino-US relations to carry on the past and open up the future.”

Trade discussions

Trump and Xi discussed trade, with Xi saying that China’s door of opportunity will open wider.

What this means is not explicitly clear yet, but Trump will be hoping it includes a Chinese pledge to buy US soya beans, beef and aircraft. Officials in the Trump administration also hope to move towards setting up a Board of Trade with China to manage commercial disputes between the two countries.

Xi also met with US business leaders who have accompanied Trump on this trip on Thursday.

The US and China entered a tariff threat standoff last year, with each side imposing retaliatory tariffs on each other’s exports.

China also restricted exports of some rare-earth metals, which are crucial for technology manufacturing, in April. Later in the year, it announced plans to restrict several others. Those later plans are on pause since a truce was agreed between the two presidents in October last year on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea.

In return for China’s agreement to pause restrictions on rare-earth metal exports, Trump dropped a threat of 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods.

Taiwan

The Taiwanese government maintains that the self-governing island of 23 million people is a sovereign state.

During the meeting on Thursday, Xi reportedly warned Trump that the issue of Taiwan – which China regards as its own territory – could lead to conflict between Washington and Beijing if it is not handled carefully.

However, Taiwan was not mentioned in a joint statement following the meeting, and Trump notably ignored a question from reporters about his stance on Taiwan.

This is a tricky issue for the US.

While the US government officially acknowledges that China views Taiwan as part of its territory, it does not explicitly state whether or not it agrees with that stance.

The US formally severed official diplomatic ties with Taiwan – also known as the Republic of China – decades ago, but remains committed under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to supporting the defence of the self-governing democracy.

That law has enabled Washington to supply Taiwan with billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and to deepen cooperation in areas such as military training and intelligence sharing, moves Beijing regards as meddling in its internal affairs.

Xi has told Trump that the “Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning posted on X on Thursday.

“If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy,” she wrote.

Taiwan independence and peace in the Taiwan Strait are as “irreconcilable as fire and water”, Xi said.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that China is “currently the sole risk to regional peace and stability”, after Xi warned Trump.

“Beijing has no right to make any claims on behalf of Taiwan internationally,” the statement added.

The war on Iran

The US-Israel war on Iran, which entered its 76th day on Thursday, also came up in the meeting between Trump and Xi on Thursday.

In their joint statement, Trump and Xi agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and Iran should never have nuclear weapons.

US officials have previously said that they might need China’s help in convincing Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. But analysts say Beijing will want concessions from the US, likely regarding Taiwan, in exchange for any aid in resolving the crisis.