For three days in China, President Donald Trump kept a low public profile, speaking little to reporters and largely staying off social media before his comments shifted after he boarded his plane home. The trip, which China portrayed as centered on managing U.S.-China ties through a new framing, was nonetheless dominated in practice by two issue areas: Taiwan and the U.S. and China’s shared exposure to risks tied to the Iran war.
On Taiwan, Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the visit with a warning, saying that if Washington mishandled its relations with Taiwan, the two countries could end up clashing or even in open conflict. Trump did not respond publicly while in Beijing and largely refrained from mentioning Taiwan, even as Chinese leaders presented the island as a central element of U.S.-China relations.
As Trump prepared to leave China, the U.S. had already faced scrutiny over whether his second-term approach to Taiwan might change, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying there was no change in U.S. policy. Trump ultimately did not publicly discuss Taiwan during the visit, but he told reporters after leaving China that he had not made a decision on whether to carry through with a major arms package sale to Taipei that his administration had previously approved.
Trump said on the presidential plane that “President Xi and I talked a lot about Taiwan,” and he said Xi “does not want to see a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation.” He added, “I heard him out,” and said, “I didn’t make a comment.” Trump also appeared to have trouble recalling the name of Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, and he said of Washington’s policy toward the island, “The last thing we need right now is a war that’s 9,500 miles away.”
Trump declined to answer when asked whether he would consider intervening militarily if China attacked Taiwan. The question drew a response consistent with longstanding U.S. policy described as “strategic ambiguity,” which says Washington will ensure Taiwan has resources to defend itself but does not specify how far the U.S. would go militarily.
While the Taiwan discussions shaped the trip’s tone, Trump also suggested that he and Xi held substantive talks about the war in Iran. Trump said Xi agreed that a nuclear-armed Iran is a bad idea and said the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened, adding that Xi offered to help find an endgame to the conflict. Chinese officials did not publicly confirm that such an offer was made, and China’s publicly stated position instead said any solution should “take into account the concerns of all parties on the Iran nuclear issue.”
Trump portrayed China’s role as more significant than in past approaches, arguing that Beijing should be more involved given its dependence on oil and liquefied natural gas coming from the Middle East. If China’s engagement were to increase, that could affect the U.S. effort to find a credible exit from the Iran war, particularly as the conflict has contributed to higher global oil prices and raises recession risks if it continues.
China, for its part, emphasized a diplomatic reset between Beijing and Washington. It said the leaders agreed on a new vision for “a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability,” and that the framework would shape ties for at least three years, covering the rest of Trump’s term. Chinese Foreign Ministry statements said the approach would focus on cooperation, competition within limits, and managing differences, and the Chinese framing included keeping the relationship on an even keel.
External analysts cited by the article characterized the new approach as a shift away from earlier framing of the relationship. Helena Legarda of the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin said the idea was “to keep the relationship on an even keel,” while George Chen, a partner at The Asia Group consultancy, said the approach could represent progress from an era under President Joe Biden when the relationship was framed as strategic competition.
Trade talks were another visible element of the trip, with Trump traveling with a large group of top executives, including the head of Boeing and Jensen Huang of Nvidia, along with Elon Musk. Trump told reporters that major deals had been reached and said China could buy up to 200 Boeing planes, though he did not announce anything concrete before departing Beijing. Trump later suggested on the plane home that China could buy as many as 750 planes from Boeing if an initial order goes well, and he said that future purchases could include 450 General Electric engines.
Chinese officials described steps they said the two sides agreed to take on trade and investment. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the nations agreed to establish boards on trade and investment, address each other’s concerns on agricultural goods’ market access, and promote expanded trade under a framework of reciprocal tariff reductions. The article noted that fine print often matters in bilateral accords and that Trump previously used an elaborate signing ceremony in a prior term to cement large numbers of deals, only for not all promised items to ultimately materialize.
Trump also repeatedly praised Xi throughout the visit, including characterizing him as a “great leader” and saying they had a “fantastic future together.” Trump said it was an “honor” to be with Xi and described Xi as “warm,” and the visit included reciprocal gestures such as talk of seeds to grow roses at the White House following Trump’s tea with Xi at Xi’s residence. China’s president was not described as returning the kind of overt praise Trump offered, but Chinese state messaging said Xi called the “landmark visit” as deepening mutual trust.
Leung reported from Hong Kong, Mistreanu and Wu from Bangkok, and Superville from Washington.