The Chinese leader has warned the US president that disagreements over Taiwan could take relations down a dangerous path and even lead to conflict.
Published May 14, 2026
Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned U.S. President Donald Trump that mishandling Taiwan could push the two countries into a “conflict,” sparking a heated meeting between the two countries’ leaders in Beijing ahead of a summit.
President Trump called Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” invited him to visit the White House in September, and arrived in China praising his role as host.
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Beyond the pomp and circumstance with which he welcomed President Trump, Mr. Xi said in a subdued tone that the two countries “should be partners, not rivals,” directly highlighting the issue of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as territory.
“The Taiwan issue is the most important issue in China-US relations,” Xi said on Thursday, according to remarks published by Chinese state media shortly after the two-hour and 15-minute meeting began.
Xi added: “If we respond incorrectly, the two countries may collide or even collide, and the entire China-US relationship may end up in a very dangerous situation.”
The visit to China, the first by a US president in nearly 10 years, has taken on added importance as President Trump seeks an economic victory as his approval rating declines due to the war with Iran, which shows no signs of slowing down.
In brief opening remarks after a ceremony in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People with an honor guard and a crowd of children waving flowers and flags, Trump told Xi: “There are people who say this could be the greatest summit in history.”
In a summary of his remarks, China’s Foreign Ministry said Xi told Trump that preparatory talks between the U.S.-China economic and trade team in South Korea on Wednesday had reached a “balanced and positive outcome.”
“The overall message from China to the United States is that China is open to flexibility and some disagreement on a range of issues, including Iran, trade and technology,” Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, said.
“However, there is one issue on which China and President Xi cannot be flexible: Taiwan,” she said.
“And all that the Chinese government has offered over the past few hours, kindness, friendship, reaching out to work more closely, has not come for free and has come with one condition: that Washington accepts that there is only one China and that China is very serious about keeping Taiwan under its control.”
