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Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned his United States counterpart, Donald Trump, that missteps on Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict”, a stark opening salvo as the two leaders meet in Beijing for a summit.
Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend” and extending an invitation for Xi to visit the White House in September.
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Beyond the pomp as he welcomed Trump, Xi, in less effusive tones, said the two sides “should be partners and not rivals” and highlighted the issue of Taiwan – which Beijing claims as its territory – straight off the bat.
“The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations,” Xi said on Thursday, according to remarks published by Chinese state media shortly after the start of the talks, which lasted two hours and 15 minutes.
“If mishandled, the two nations could collide or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a highly perilous situation,” Xi added.
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.
‘The most important bilateral relationship in the world’
Despite the issue of Taiwan, both leaders emphasised the importance of China-US relations.
During his toast at a state banquet with Xi, he also said citizens of the US and China have long shared a “deep sense of mutual respect”, and used a number of historical references to illustrate his point.
Speaking before Trump at the banquet, Xi said: “The people of China and the United States are both great peoples, achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese great nation and making America great again can go hand in hand.”
“We both believe that China and the US relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. We must make it work and never mess it up,” he also said.
A day earlier, the Chinese leader 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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a summary of the remarks.
Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, said the “overall message from Beijing to the US is that China is willing to be flexible and accept a level of disagreement on various issues – Iran, trade or technology”.
“But there is one issue China and President Xi cannot be flexible on. That is Taiwan,” she said.
“And everything that Beijing has offered in the last few hours – niceties, friendliness, reaching out a hand to cooperate more closely – is not free and is conditional on one thing: Washington accepts that there is only one China and that Beijing is very serious about getting Taiwan under its control.”
The White House, meanwhile, concluded that Trump “had a good meeting with President Xi”.
“The two sides discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation between our two countries, including expanding market access for American businesses into China and increasing Chinese investment into our industries,” it said.
Taiwan question lingers
Meanwhile, the US position on Taiwan is “strategic ambiguity”, said Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, also reporting from Beijing.
“They say Taiwan exists, but also believe that it is part of greater China. They don’t support any independence movement, but they don’t want to see China take over Taiwan by force.”
Still, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a taped interview with CNBC, when asked about US policy on Taiwan, said that Trump understands the sensitivities regarding Taiwan and will speak on the matter in the coming days.
Taiwan, for its part, said so far there is ”no surprising message” from the summit between the Chinese and US leaders in Beijing, and Taipei is in close touch with Washington on the meeting, a spokesperson for Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said.
Xi and Trump additionally agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must be open for the free flow of energy, and Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.
“For the US, it is all about Iran; for China, it is all about Taiwan. And the two of them believe they have leverage over the other to move positions,” said Fisher.
