Xi warns Trump of 'conflict' over Taiwan

BEIJING:

China's President Xi Jinping warned US President Donald Trump on Thursday that mishandling the countries' disagreements over Taiwan could push China-US relations to a "dangerous place," as the two leaders met for a closely watched summit.

Xi's remarks on Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by Beijing, came in a closed-door meeting of the leaders of the world's two largest economies that ran more than two hours, China's foreign ministry said.

They represented a stark - if not unprecedented - warning during a pomp-filled occasion that was otherwise friendly and relaxed, although the US summary of the talks made no mention of Taiwan.

According to Chinese state media Xinhua, Xi, referring to Taiwan, told Trump: "If handled poorly, the two countries could collide or even enter into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into an extremely dangerous place."

Taiwan has long been a flashpoint in the US-China relationship, 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.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is with Trump in China, confirmed to NBC News that the issue of Taiwan was discussed, saying the Chinese "always raise it on their side, we always make clear our position and we move on to the other topics."

The US summary of the talks focused on the leaders' shared desire to reopen the key waterway of the Strait of Hormuz, effectively closed due to the Iran war, and Xi's apparent interest in buying American oil to reduce China's dependence on Middle East supplies.

With Trump's approval ratings dented by a war with Iran that shows no signs of abating, the first visit by a US president to China in nearly a decade has taken on added significance as he searches for economic wins.

"There are those who say this may be the biggest summit ever," Trump told Xi in brief opening remarks, after a ceremony that featured an honour guard and throngs of children waving flowers and flags at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

Xi told Trump that preparatory negotiations between US and Chinese economic and trade teams in South Korea on Wednesday had reached "balanced and positive outcomes", China's foreign ministry said in a summary.

The talks aimed to maintain a fragile trade truce struck when the leaders last met in October, where Trump suspended triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods and Xi backed away from choking global supplies of vital rare earths.

China has agreed to order 200 Boeing BA.N jets, US President Donald Trump told Fox News Channel on Thursday, marking the country's first purchase of US-made commercial jets in nearly a decade.

No details about the deal were immediately available, but 200 jets would be far fewer than the 500-jet deal that industry sources said had been discussed. It also would be far fewer than the number of new aircraft needed by Chinese airlines to keep up with the country's booming demand for air travel.

Boeing shares fell more than 4% after the comments were aired.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump was referring to the entire Boeing order or only to narrowbody or widebody planes. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

CHINA'S RED LINES

Trump expected Xi to raise the thorny issue of US arms sales to Taiwan, he said earlier this week. With the status of a $14 billion package awaiting Trump's approval still unclear, China has reiterated its strong opposition to the sales.

"US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today," Rubio told NBC.

Trump did not respond to a reporter's shouted question whether the leaders had discussed Taiwan as he posed with Xi later for photos at the Temple of Heaven, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where emperors once prayed for good harvests.

Taipei said there was nothing surprising from the summit and that China's military pressure is the real threat to peace.

Underscoring its outsized importance to the US economy, Taiwan, an island of 23 million people, is the United States' fourth-largest trading partner, behind China, which has about 1.4 billion people.

 

LOBSTER SOUP AND BEIJING DUCK

At a lavish state banquet attended by senior officials and business executives, Xi told the audience that the China-US relationship was the most important in the world.

"We must make it work and never mess it up," Xi said, before guests tucked into a 10-course dinner that included lobster soup, Beijing roast duck and tiramisu.

The leaders will take tea and lunch together on Friday before Trump departs.

Joining Trump on his visit are a group of CEOs looking to resolve issues with China, from Elon Musk, viewed in China as a visionary and occasional villain, to Nvidia NVDA.O CEO Jensen Huang, a late addition to the delegation.

The United States has cleared around 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia's powerful H200 AI chip, but not a single delivery has been made so far, Reuters exclusively reported.

 

TRUMP INVITES XI TO WASHINGTON

Trump entered the talks with a weakened hand.

US courts have hemmed in his ability to levy tariffs at will on exports from China and other countries, while the Iran war has boosted inflation at home and elevated the risk that Trump's Republican Party will lose control of one or both legislative branches in November's midterm elections.

Though the Chinese economy has faltered, Xi does not face comparable economic or political pressure.

As well as Boeing jets, Washington is looking to sell farm goods and energy to China to cut a trade deficit that has long irked Trump. Beijing, for its part, wants US curbs eased on exports of chip-making equipment and advanced semiconductors, officials involved in the planning said.

Trump is expected to encourage China to convince Iran to make a deal with Washington to end the conflict, as a fifth of global supplies of oil and natural gas travel through the Strait of Hormuz in normal times.

But analysts doubt Xi will be willing to push Tehran hard or end support for its military, given Iran's value to Beijing as a strategic counterweight to the United States.

Rubio told Fox News that it was in China's interest to help resolve the crisis as many of its ships are stuck in the Gulf and a slowdown in the global economy would hurt its exporters.

Iran's Fars news agency reported on Thursday that an agreement had been reached to let some Chinese ships pass.

Trump on Thursday invited Xi for a reciprocal trip to the White House on September 24, in what would be his first visit to Washington since 2015 and his first to the United States in the US president's second term.