Photo: Alamy
As President Donald Trump concluded his visit to China on Friday, he insisted relations between the United States and China remain strong despite continuing disagreements over Taiwan, Iran and other major geopolitical issues.
The president began his final day in Beijing by defending comments made by Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying in a social media post that Xi had congratulated him on “so many tremendous successes” and had only been referring to former President Joe Biden when discussing the United States as “perhaps being a declining nation.”
Despite Trump’s optimistic tone, major policy disputes remained unresolved during the summit. Taiwan emerged as one of the most sensitive issues during the talks. According to Chinese officials, Xi warned President Trump during private meetings that disagreements over Taiwan, if mishandled, could push the two countries toward “clashes and even conflicts.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said U.S. policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged and warned it would be “a terrible mistake” for China to attempt to seize the island by force.
“They always raise it on their side. We always make clear our position, and we move on to the other topics,” Rubio said.
China has increasingly emphasized that Taiwan represents a “core” national interest. Meanwhile, President Trump has pushed Taiwan to increase defense spending and has continued support for arms sales to the self-governing island. In December, the White House announced an $11 billion weapons package for Taiwan, the largest ever approved for the island democracy.
Iran was another major topic during Thursday’s two-hour meeting between the president and Xi at the Great Hall of the People. President Trump said both leaders agreed the Strait of Hormuz should reopen to stabilize global energy markets after disruptions caused by the conflict.
President Trump told Fox News that Xi offered assistance in helping resolve the war.
“He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open,” President Trump said. “He said if I can be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help.”
The president also said Xi opposed imposing tolls on ships crossing the strait and expressed interest in China purchasing more American oil to reduce dependence on Gulf energy supplies.
