China warns Trump over Taiwan question at high-stakes summit

Despite tensions, the visit featured ceremonial warmth, including a state banquet and statements highlighting the importance of bilateral ties.

• China’s President Xi Jinping called US-China relations the world’s most important. ‘Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America Great Again can go hand in hand,’ he said during a state welcome dinner for US President Donald Trump. ‘We must make it work and never mess it up,’ he added. According to China’s state media, Xi earlier warned Trump that disagreements over Taiwan could push relations toward conflict.
• Trump described the first day of the two-day visit as a ‘fantastic day.’ He also invited Xi and his wife, Madame Peng, to visit the White House in September. The US downplayed Taiwan in its summary of the talks between Trump and Xi, focusing instead on trade, energy cooperation, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

‘China is currently the only risk to regional peace and stability,’ Taiwan’s Ministry of Affairs said in response to Xi’s warning on Thursday. The self-governed island also said nothing surprising had emerged from the talks between Xi and Trump. ‘So at this point, all we can say is that there has been no surprising information so far and we will continue to maintain close communication with the American side,’ Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Head and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh said.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang urged stronger US-China ties through friendship and cooperation while speaking with US business leaders, including Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and Jensen Huang, during Trump’s Beijing visit. ‘China and the United States have been able to maintain frank and smooth dialogue and communication and actively safeguard a stable and healthy bilateral relationship’ despite international turbulence, Li said.

Friday will feature more talks between the two leaders, followed by a tea reception before Trump departs for Washington on Air Force One.

China’s President Xi Jinping has promised to help the US open the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has kept largely shuttered since the US and Israel first attacked it on February 28, according to US President Donald Trump.

Speaking to Fox News’ “Hannity” show from Beijing on Thursday, shortly after a meeting with Xi, Trump said of his Chinese counterpart: “He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open, and said ‘if I can be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help.'”

Trump also said that Xi vowed not to arm Iran in its conflict against the US and Israel.

“He said he’s not going to give military equipment… he said that strongly,” Trump said.

US officials traveling with President Donald Trump to China have sought to downplay what appeared to be casting aside the question of Taiwan in talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who directly warned Washington over the self-governed island.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told US business news network CNBC that Trump would say more on Taiwan “in the coming days.”

“It wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up,” Bessent said. “President Trump understands the issues here and understands the sensitivities around all this. Anyone who has been saying otherwise does not understand the negotiating style of Donald Trump.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio meanwhile stressed Washington’s policy toward Taiwan remained “unchanged.”

“US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today and as of the meeting that we had here today. It was raised. They always raise it on their side. We always make clear our position, and we move on to the other topics,” Rubio told NBC news.

State visits are typically highly stage-managed, particularly in China, however, this does not preclude unscripted moments, like these: 

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC he believes China will act to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling it firmly in China’s own interest.

It comes after President Donald Trump discussed the war with Iran with China’s President Xi Jinping during their meeting in Beijing.

In response to the US-Israeli strikes, Iran has effectively closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz to Gulf oil and gas exports, sending prices soaring and forcing countries around the world to scramble for alternative supplies.

The White House says both leaders agreed the Strait of Hormuz must be open, and that Iran should never acquire nuclear weapons.

China is Iran’s closest major partner and its biggest oil customer, giving Beijing significant leverage.

President Donald Trump invited his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to visit the United States in September.

Speaking at a state banquet in Chinas Great Hall of the People, Trump invited Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, to visit the White House on 24 September.

He also described the relationship between the US and China as one of the “most consequential in world history.”

Speaking before Trump, Xi described China-US relations as the most important bilateral relationship in the world.

The two leaders avoided controversial topics in their public speeches.

DW China analyst Clifford Connan said it was likely the Trump administration was “not trying to rock the boat.”

“Trump is thinking ahead to when Xi is coming to Washington in terms of any big moves,” he said.

Taiwan said nothing surprising had emerged from the talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump.

“So at this point, all we can say is that there has been no surprising information so far and we will continue to maintain close communication with the American side,” Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Head and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh said.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has long treated the island’s status as a core issue in its relations with Washington.

DW China analyst Clifford Connan said Beijing views the question of Taiwan’s legal status as “a red line” that must not be crossed in diplomatic relations with the United States.

This was underlined by Xi during his meeting with Trump.

“The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations,” Xi said, according to remarks published by Chinese state media.

In its summary of the meeting, which lasted more than two hours, the White House did not mention Taiwan.

US President Donald Trump is in China on a visit that could determine who gets to set the global agenda. Already, Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned that supposed mishandling of the Taiwan issue could put China-US ties in a ‘very dangerous situation.’ Trump has meanwhile said its an ‘honor’ to be Xi’s friend.

Ben Fajzullin chats with DW China analyst Clifford Connan and DW Taipei Correspondent Rik Glauert.

The White House described the meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump as “good.”

In a readout of the meeting, it said the two leaders agreed the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy. The White House said both leaders agreed Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.

Trump and Xi also discussed continuing efforts to stop fentanyl precursor chemicals from entering the US and increasing China’s purchases of US agricultural products, the statement said.

The readout made no mention of Taiwan.

China’s Xi Jinping welcomed President Donald Trump with the same kind of pomp at the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square as he did in 2017.

Trump shook hands with top Chinese officials, as did Xi with top American officials.

The leaders of the two superpowers then went back inside the Great Hall for bilateral talks behind closed doors.

A Chinese readout of the discussions said the pair discussed a range of thorny issues, including the Taiwan question and the situation in the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula.

Trump is accompanied by his son, Eric, and a host of business leaders, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Tesla’s Elon Musk.

Donald Trump has posed for photos with Xi Jinping at Beijing’s Temple of Heaven during a high-profile meeting.

Trump did not speak publicly as the two leaders appeared together following their arrival at the historic site, after a pomp-filled red carpet ceremony at the Great Hall of the People.

The World Heritage site is the spot where China’s emperors once prayed for good harvests.

Trump and Xi were expected to return to the Great Hall of the People for an evening state banquet.  

The meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping has ended, according to a White House pool report. It lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes.

China’s President Xi Jinping has told Donald Trump that their countries could come into conflict if the issue over Taiwan is mishandled, Chinese state media said.

“The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

“If mishandled, the two nations could collide or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a highly perilous situation.”

China also restated on Wednesday its opposition to a recent US weapons deal with Taiwan.

China claims self-governed Taiwan as part of its territory and says it must be “reunified” with the mainland.

 It has intensified military activities and drills around Taiwan in recent years, most recently in December 2025 when China stimulated a blockade of Taiwan’s ports. 

Over time, China’s rhetoric has changed from preventing Taiwan’s independence to actively promoting unification.

For its part, the US continues to support Taiwan politically and militarily.

Sighted leaving the Great Hall of the People as Trump was arriving were leaders of US businesses, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Tesla founder Elon Musk and Jensen Huang from tech giant Nvidia.

When asked how meetings were going, Musk said “wonderful,” while Cook gave a thumbs up and Huang said, “the meetings went well.”

They then left on a waiting bus.

Also seen attending the welcome ceremony were Secretary of State Marco Rubioand Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Zheng Shanjie, head of the economic planning agency, were among the Chinese representatives present.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun were later visible in video footage as the Trump and Xi delegations started their meeting.

Before heading into their meeting on Thursday morning, Xi told Trump that their two countries should be “partners not rivals.”

“A stable China-US relationship is a boon for the world. Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both. We should be partners and not rivals,” Xi said.

Xi added he was “happy” to receive Trump for the US leader’s first trip to China since 2017 as “the world has arrived at a new crossroads.” 

For his part, Trump told Xi, “We’re going to have a fantastic future together.”