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By John Feng
China Editor
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President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping walked away with largely symbolic wins from their summit in Beijing, which was heavy on pageantry but light on policy.
Trump said China was interested in buying some more soybeans and planes from American producers but offered few specifics about the new purchases. He said the two sides also felt "very similar" on how they wanted the war in Iran to end. China did not directly echo the U.S. statement but said the spillover from war in the Middle East was having far-reaching economic consequences around the world.
A bullish Xi made Taiwan his top priority, warning that the future of China's relations with the United States was dependent on America's acquiescence to its claim to the island, and Trump later revealed an in-depth conversation with Xi about potential U.S. military involvement in a possible Taiwan Strait crisis.
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In the end, both presidents had their say and neither appeared to turn the other, but Xi may leave the happier man if Beijing can extend the truce reached in South Korea last October, "which the Chinese view as relatively favorable to them," said Bonnie Glaser, director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
China may attempt to tie the U.S. to a new “Beijing consensus" if the Trump administration does not clearly define the next phase of the relationship, Glaser said during a media call on Friday.
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Trump was effusive in his praise of the Chinese leader and the country throughout the trip, which culminated Friday in a rare tour of Zhongnanhai, the heavily guarded government complex at the heart of elite Chinese politics.
“This has been an incredible visit,” Trump said. “I think a lot of good has come of it. We've made some fantastic trade deals—great for both countries.”
Beijing said the visit had “deepened mutual trust” between the leaders, who have differing core national security concerns. China has sought to lower the risk of war, emphasizing the need for stability in the relationship to avoid future conflict.
“The tone of both Xi and Trump's remarks was positive," said Raymond Kuo, vice president of research, geostrategy and diplomacy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. "Xi's comments in particular tried to align the meeting with China's touchpoints of national rejuvenation and opening up, as well as nudging the U.S. towards a G2 construct where Washington and Beijing take particular responsibility in guiding global affairs.”
The American and Chinese leaders shared tea and lunch together with a smaller group of key officials than at the summit the day before. Air Force One left Beijing's main airport for Washington at around 3 p.m. local time (3 a.m. ET).
Trump’s Wins: Elusive Deals—and Iran
Business was at the forefront of Trump’s mind during Thursday’s talks, as evidenced by the unusually large group of American executives he had hand-picked for the high-level political dialogue.
Such was his eagerness to secure greater market access for U.S. firms that Trump later said he convinced Xi to meet with the company heads, throwing off the official itinerary.
“They were surprised because…you know, it wasn't scheduled,” he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an interview that aired on Thursday evening Eastern Time.
Xi accommodated Trump’s request to meet with the likes of Elon Musk, Tim Cook and Jensen Huang, and the Chinese leader said: “American businesses will enjoy broader prospects in China,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
There were no immediate announcements on market access as of Friday, but Trump said the U.S. made requests on behalf of American companies including Visa, whose payment system had been "blackballed" in the Chinese market.
Trump said that China agreed to order at least 200 passenger jets from Boeing, whose chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, was among the business delegates. He added that China would buy "a lot of our farm product," including beans.
But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that beans were "all taken care of" by China's earlier commitment in Busan to purchase at least 25 million metric tons of grain in the next three years beginning in 2026.
Bessent said U.S. and Chinese negotiators were in talks to establish boards of trade and investment in sectors not considered sensitive to national security, all but ruling out a detente in the chip war, where U.S. export controls continue to ban the transfer of advanced semiconductors to Chinese companies.
Nvidia CEO Huang, who was included in the traveling pack at the last minute, has been a strong advocate of U.S. chip sales to China. The H200, his company's second-tier AI chip, has already been cleared for sale to select Chinese firms.
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The U.S. had also gone into China seeking Beijing's influence to help end the Iran war, given that China is close to Tehran and the top buyer of its oil.
On Friday, the Chinese statement recapping the talks confirmed that China and the U.S. wanted the Strait of Hormuz reopened for international shipping and that Beijing sought a peaceful settlement of "the Iranian nuclear issue"—two long held positions.
Trump said at Zhongnanhai, while seated next to Xi: “We feel very similar on Iran. We want that to end. We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon. We want the strait open.”
Xi did not correct Trump, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement on the issue notably stopped short of placing direct blame on the U.S. for launching the war—which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on February 28—or for its ongoing naval blockade against Iranian ports.
However, it did note that the war, which is having a significant impact on the global economy, should not have happened.
"To find an early way to resolve the situation is in the interest of not only the U.S. and Iran, but also regional countries and the rest of the world,” the Chinese statement said.
Trump told Fox News that China would diversify its energy imports by purchasing crude oil and natural gas from the United States.
"That's a big thing," he said.
At a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun declined to comment on specific agreements for Boeing jets, soybeans or oil.
Xi’s Wins: Taiwan and Taking the Lead
Trump's visit also delivered wins for the Chinese president. Trump’s rich praise for Xi’s leadership and repeated remarks characterizing him as a friend have elevated China to peer status, above that of America’s neighbors and allies.
Trump called Xi "an old friend of mine," saying: "I have great respect for him," according to China's summit readout.
The U.S. invitation for Xi to return to the White House on September 24 for his first official state visit in more than a decade will also come as vindication for his hardline approach to dealing with Trump last year, when Beijing went blow for blow in the tariff war.
The world's two largest economies imposed triple-digit taxes on each other's imports before China restricted rare earth element exports to U.S. companies, which critically rely on those minerals for manufacturing.
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With the summit in his country, Xi had the upper hand and clearly stated China's boundaries. The top issue at the heart of U.S- China relations for Xi wasn't trade, as Trump had prioritized, but Taiwan.
He warned Trump about the dangers of supporting the self-ruled island democracy, which Beijing views as a breakaway province to be united eventually, perhaps by force. He also made clear that U.S. actions on Taiwan would be linked to the wider economic relationship.
“The U.S. side must exercise extra caution in handling the Taiwan question,” a Chinese readout of the talks quoted Xi as saying, in an frank message to Trump, which longtime China watchers said was not without precedent.
Trump seemed to abide by that message on the visit, at least while in Beijing. Standing next to Xi during a post-summit press event on Thursday, he repeatedly ignored questions from reporters asking whether Xi had broached the topic.
The White House’s readout also did not reference Taiwan, although Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with NBC News that longstanding U.S. policy on Taiwan remained unchanged.
On Air Force One, Trump revealed that Xi was far more forthright behind closed doors, asking him directly whether he would send U.S. troops to defend Taiwan. Trump said he replied: "I don't talk about that."
The U.S. "one China" policy recognizes Beijing as the legitimate government of China and acknowledges the Chinese claim to Taiwan without supporting it. The U.S. government is bound by domestic law to help Taipei defend itself, including via the supply of American-made weaponry.
Trump said he had yet to determine the fate of a $14 billion arms package that has been awaiting presidential approval since December.
Beijing opposes U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Experts said the delay could be linked to his China trip, and that the sale could be further postponed in light of Xi's upcoming official visit to Washington.
No Change in Rivalry
While Xi said the summit would open a new, more cooperative chapter in U.S.-China ties, his opening remarks on Thursday hinted at the strong ideological belief that China's rise was precipitating America's decline, a geopolitical shift he describes as "changes not seen in a century."
Trump, seemingly aware of the reference but nonetheless flattered by China's charm offensive, turned the jibe on his predecessor, Joe Biden.
"When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, and on that score, he was 100% correct," Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday.
"Two years ago, we were, in fact, a Nation in decline. On that, I fully agree with President Xi! But now, the United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before!" he said.
Whatever personal goodwill there is between Trump and Xi, it is unlikely to change the rivalrous relationship in the realms of global trade, military dominance, international governance and emerging technologies.
"It was noteworthy to me in the Chinese readout that China continues to accept competition between the two countries," said Glaser of GMF. "That was a concession they made during the Biden administration after about two years of resisting that framing. But now the Chinese say explicitly they want limits on that competition. They want to manage it."
Kuo, at the Chicago Council, said he was skeptical about any lasting agreements emerging from the summit "due to the lack of mid-level preparation and interagency coordination" in the U.S., as well as the ongoing entanglement in the Iran war.
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