U.S. President Donald Trump described Chinese President Xi Jinping as ‘all business’ as the two leaders prepared to meet on Friday to conclude a state visit that has included high-stakes trade negotiations and a stark warning from Xi over Taiwan. The summit, Trump’s first to China since 2017, aims to solidify a fragile trade truce and address rising tensions over Taiwan, semiconductor exports, and the Iran crisis.
Speaking in a pre-recorded interview on Fox News’ Hannity program, Trump called Xi ‘a warm person but all business’ and expressed optimism about the bilateral relationship. ‘Hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social early Friday. The two leaders are scheduled to have tea and lunch at Zhongnanhai, the walled-off leadership compound in Beijing, before Trump departs.
The summit followed a trade truce struck in October, when Trump suspended triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods and Xi backed away from restricting rare earth supplies. On Thursday, Xi stated that negotiations had reached ‘balanced and positive outcomes,’ though he offered no specifics. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Bloomberg TV on Friday that it remained unclear whether the truce would be extended beyond its expiry later this year. Greer confirmed firm deals on Chinese purchases of U.S. farm goods, beef, and Boeing aircraft, adding that progress was made on establishing mechanisms to manage future trade, with both sides expected to identify $30 billion of non-sensitive goods.
Trump told Fox News that China had agreed to order 200 Boeing jets, its first purchase of U.S.-made commercial planes in nearly a decade. The number fell short of market expectations of roughly 500, causing Boeing shares to drop over 4%. Greer downplayed discussions on U.S. export controls on semiconductor chips, suggesting that a breakthrough on selling Nvidia’s advanced H200 chips to China remains distant despite Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s last-minute inclusion in the trip.
During the visit, Trump has also pressed Xi to urge Iran to reach a deal with Washington to end a war unpopular with American voters. However, Trump’s leverage has been weakened by U.S. court rulings curbing his tariff authority and domestic price increases driven by the Iran war. A White House summary highlighted the leaders’ ‘shared desire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz’ and Xi’s apparent interest in American oil purchases to reduce Chinese dependence on Middle East supply. ‘President Xi would like to see a deal made. And he did offer. He said, If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help,’ Trump told Fox News.
Xi delivered a sharp warning on Taiwan, the democratically governed island that Beijing claims. Speaking during what appeared to be a friendly summit, Xi cautioned that mishandling the Taiwan issue could send relations spiraling. Taiwan, lying just 50 miles off China’s coast, has long been a flashpoint in U.S.-China ties, with Beijing refusing to rule out the use of force and the United States legally bound to help Taipei defend itself. The warning underscores the fragility of the thaw in bilateral relations.
Source: ARY News