Xi tells Trump mishandling Taiwan could jeopardize US‑China ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping used his opening meeting with President Donald Trump in Beijing on May 14 to deliver the clearest message of the summit: Taiwan remains the issue most likely to destabilize the relationship. Chinese state media said Xi told Trump that mishandling the issue could bring “clashes and even conflicts” and put the relationship in “great jeopardy.” The warning came as both governments tried to present the two-day visit as a stabilizing exercise after months of trade friction and wider strategic disputes. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said U.S. officials were discussing a “board of trade” and a “board of investment” with China, while Trump traveled with senior business executives to press market-access demands. (mfa.gov.cn) ### Why did Taiwan dominate a summit that was also supposed to be about trade? Xi’s own account of the meeting put Taiwan near the center of the relationship, calling for communication channels to be used more effectively even as he pressed Trump on the island. CNBC, citing Chinese state media, reported that Xi said Taiwan was the “most important issue” in China-U.S. relations and warned that improper handling could jeopardize the entire relationship. (politico.com) Taiwan has long been the most sensitive sovereignty issue for Beijing. The United States maintains ties with Taipei while officially acknowledging Beijing’s position that Taiwan is part of China, a balance that leaves room for diplomatic ambiguity but also for repeated friction when either side believes the other is testing limits. ### What did Trump’s team say in public? (mfa.gov.cn) Scott Bessent, speaking to CNBC during the trip, said Trump understood the Taiwan issue and was “very, very resolute” in his answers. A U.S. readout cited by CNBC described the leaders as having “a good meeting” focused on economic cooperation, but it did not mention Taiwan. Trump himself did not publicly answer a reporter’s question on Taiwan while appearing with Xi in Beijing, according to CNBC. (cnbc.com) That left the Chinese account as the fuller public description of the exchange on the issue. ### What did the two sides actually produce on trade? Bessent said on May 14 that Washington was discussing a board of investment and that officials were also talking with Beijing about a board of trade. (cnbc.com) He said the idea was to identify nonstrategic sectors where Chinese investment could be allowed and to expand U.S. sales into China as the administration tries to narrow the trade imbalance. The commercial results looked limited. BBC reported that Trump brought a group of prominent executives to Beijing, but few major deals emerged from the visit. ### Why did beef licenses become part of the story? Reuters reported on May 14 that Chinese customs first renewed, then appeared to halt, export clearances for hundreds of U.S. beef plants during the summit. More than 400 U.S. beef facilities had lost export eligibility over the past year after earlier permissions expired without renewal, according to the Reuters report. (politico.com) (bbc.com) The back-and-forth mattered because U.S. agricultural access was one of the concrete commercial issues heading into the talks. A quick reversal on beef underscored how narrow and reversible even practical trade gains can be while broader disputes remain unresolved. That assessment is an inference from the reported sequence of approvals and reversals during the summit. (money.usnews.com) ### Was this summit meant to solve the rivalry? Xi’s official account said he and Trump had agreed on a “new vision” of a “constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability” and should make better use of political, diplomatic and military communication channels. That language pointed to process and guardrails more than to a reset of core disputes. The next public markers will come from any formal U.S. or Chinese readouts on the proposed trade and investment boards and from whether Chinese customs restores the beef export clearances that shifted during the May 14 summit. (msn.com) (politico.com) (mfa.gov.cn)