After Taiwan Warning, Trump And Xi Set For Second Day Of Talks

Last Updated:May 15, 2026, 04:03 IST

Donald Trump ends China state visit with Xi Jinping, securing a smaller than expected Boeing jet order, as Xi issues stark Taiwan warning and Iran and trade tensions loom

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet on Friday as Trump concludes his two-day state visit to China, marked by ceremonial events, business agreements and renewed tensions over Taiwan.

During the visit, Xi warned that mishandling the Taiwan issue could push US-China ties to “a very dangerous place", underlining continuing strains between the two countries despite efforts to deepen economic engagement.

The trip marks the first visit by a US president to China since Trump’s 2017 visit during his first term. China remains America’s biggest strategic and economic rival.

Trump is seeking tangible outcomes from the visit as he looks to boost his approval ratings ahead of key midterm elections in the United States.

The two leaders are scheduled to have tea and lunch before Trump flies back to the United States.

The summit has been aimed at maintaining a fragile trade truce struck when the leaders last met in October and Trump suspended triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods and Xi backed away from choking global supplies of vital rare earths.

Trump has also been expected to urge China to convince Iran to make a deal with Washington to end a war unpopular with American voters.

But he has traveled to Beijing with a weakened hand after U.S. courts limited his ability to levy tariffs at will and as price rises driven by the Iran war have made him politically vulnerable at home.

A brief U.S. summary of Thursday’s talks highlighted what the White House called the leaders’ shared desire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz waterway off Iran, through which a fifth of global supplies of oil and natural gas travel in normal times, and Xi’s apparent interest in buying American oil to reduce China’s dependence on Middle East supplies.

Trump told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity that China had agreed to order 200 Boeing jets, its first purchase of U.S.-made commercial jets in nearly a decade.

That total was much lower than markets were expecting. Media reports had suggested the planemaker was nearing a deal to sell 500 or more airplanes to China and Boeing shares fell more than 4% after the comments were aired.

XI’s STARK WARNING

Xi’s remarks on Taiwan, the democratically governed island Beijing claims, represented a sharp, if not unprecedented, warning during a pomp-filled summit that otherwise appeared friendly and relaxed.

China’s foreign ministry said they came in a closed-door meeting that ran more than two hours.

Taiwan, which lies just 50 miles (80 km) off China’s coast, has long been a flashpoint in U.S.-China ties, with Beijing refusing to rule out the use of military force to gain control of the island and the United States bound by law to provide Taipei with the means to defend itself.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is with Trump in China, told NBC News that Taiwan was discussed, saying the Chinese “always raise it … we always make clear our position and we move on to the other topics."

“U.S. policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today," Rubio added.

Trump, who revels in grand occasions, appeared in his element in the public spectacle.

He did not respond to a reporter’s shouted question whether the leaders had discussed Taiwan when he posed with Xi for photos at the Temple of Heaven UNESCO World Heritage site.

“There are those who say this may be the biggest summit ever," he said earlier at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, after a ceremony that featured an honor guard and throngs of children waving flowers and flags.

At a lavish state banquet, Xi called the China-U.S. relationship the most important in the world and added: “We must make it work and never mess it up."

China’s foreign ministry said Xi had told Trump that preparatory negotiations between U.S. and Chinese trade teams on Wednesday had reached “balanced and positive outcomes."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who led those talks, said he expected progress on establishing mechanisms to support future bilateral trade and investment, and an announcement about large Chinese orders for Boeing aircraft.

News world After Taiwan Warning, Trump And Xi Set For Second Day Of Talks

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