One day after US President Donald Trump’s visit to China for trade talks, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping toasted at a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, praising their relationship as the most “vital” in the world.
On Thursday, after visiting the Temple of Heaven, a 600-year-old landmark in the Chinese capital, President Xi spoke of a “common future between the United States and China,” while warning that failing to address this bond would create a “very dangerous situation.”
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“We have to make it work and never mess it up,” he said.
Let’s take a look at what each president has said so far on five important issues.
their personal bond
The US president described the Chinese president as “my friend” in his opening remarks at a state dinner hosted by Xi for the US leader.
“We will build a great future together. I have great respect for China and the work it has done. You are a great leader,” he told Xi.
President Trump also invited Mr. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, to revisit the White House on September 24.
The Chinese president said he was “very happy” to meet Trump in Beijing at a time of historical upheaval and when “the world is at a new crossroads.”
He then asked the US president a series of questions.
“Can we work together to tackle global challenges and bring more stability to the world?” he asked.
“Can we work together to build a brighter future for bilateral relations, safeguarding the well-being of our respective peoples and the common future of humanity?”
“These are essentially questions raised by history, the world and people, and they constitute the answers to our time that you and I, as leaders of major countries, must jointly write,” he added.
Reporting from Beijing, Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu said that although the Chinese leader did not extend friendly relations with President Trump, Mr. Xi’s reception underscored how highly he valued the visit.
“China is deeply invested in symbolism and visual optics, and uses these details to convey the importance of the guest,” Yu said.
Trump was welcomed at China’s seat of power, the Great Hall of the People, which “represents the White House and all other important centers of power combined.”
He added: “China knows very well that it wants to put on a show for President Trump. What we’re seeing now is China rolling out the red carpet in response.”
In addition, Vice President Han Zheng welcomed President Trump at the airport upon his arrival in Beijing on Wednesday, making him the highest-ranking Chinese official ever to welcome a U.S. president.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi are likely to meet again on at least two other occasions this year. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit will be held in Shenzhen, China in November. The Group of 20 (G20) Summit will be held in Miami, Florida, USA in December.
It is unprecedented for a US president to visit China twice in one year.
their national ties
In a new position aimed at guiding U.S.-China relations over the next three years, Xi and Trump agreed to make bilateral relations “constructive, strategic and stable,” according to a statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs about their meeting.
President Trump said the relationship between the two countries goes back to the founding of the United States, noting that the early American traders who visited China were described by the Chinese as “new people.”
Today, the bilateral relationship between the two countries is one of the “most consequential” in the world, he said.
The Chinese president said the two countries should be partners, not rivals, adding that “mutual respect is the key to stable Sino-US relations.”
“I have always believed that the common interests of China and the United States outweigh our differences,” Xi said.
“Let’s make 2026 a historic and groundbreaking year for China-US relations, carrying on the past and paving the way for the future.”
trade talks
Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi discussed trade, and Mr. Xi said China’s doors of opportunity would open even wider.
It is not yet clear what this means, but President Trump is likely to expect it to include commitments by China to buy American soybeans, beef and aircraft. Trump administration officials also want to move toward establishing a trade commission with China to manage trade disputes between the two countries.
Mr Xi also met with US business leaders who accompanied President Trump on his visit on Thursday.
The United States and China entered into a tariff-threatening standoff last year, with both sides imposing retaliatory duties on each other’s exports.
China also restricted exports of some rare earth metals essential for technology manufacturing in April. Later this year, it announced plans to restrict some other services. Further plans have been suspended since a cease-fire was agreed between the two presidents on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea in October last year.
In exchange for China’s agreement to suspend export restrictions on rare earth metals, President Trump dropped a threat to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods.
Taiwan
Taiwan’s government claims the self-governing island of 23 million people is a sovereign state.
During Thursday’s meeting, Xi reportedly warned Trump that the issue of Taiwan, which China considers its territory, could lead to conflict between the United States and China if not handled carefully.
However, there was no mention of Taiwan in the joint statement following the meeting, and President Trump conspicuously ignored questions from reporters about his stance on Taiwan.
This is a difficult issue for the United States.
The US government has officially recognized that China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory, but has not said whether it agrees with that position.
Although the United States formally severed official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China, decades ago, it remains committed to supporting the defense of an autonomous democracy under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.
The law allows the U.S. government to supply Taiwan with billions of dollars worth of weapons and deepen cooperation in areas such as military training and intelligence sharing, a move that Beijing views as interference in Taiwan’s internal affairs.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning posted on X on Thursday that President Xi told President Trump that “the Taiwan issue is the most important issue in China-US relations.”
“If properly addressed, the bilateral relationship will be generally stable. Otherwise, the two countries will end up in conflict and conflict, putting the entire relationship at great risk,” she wrote.
President Xi said that Taiwan’s independence and peace across the Taiwan Strait are “like fire and water, incompatible.”
In response to President Xi’s warning to President Trump, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying, “The only risk to regional peace and stability at this time is China.”
The statement added: “Beijing has no right to make any claims internationally on behalf of Taiwan.”
war with iran
The U.S.-Israel war against Iran, which entered its 76th day on Thursday, also came up during Thursday’s meeting between President Trump and President Xi Jinping.
In a joint statement, President Trump and President Xi agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and that Iran should never acquire nuclear weapons.
U.S. officials have previously said China may be needed to persuade Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. But analysts expect Beijing will likely seek concessions from the United States on Taiwan in exchange for help resolving the crisis.
