Trump Says He and Xi Talked Extensively About Taiwan

President Donald Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, emphasized stability Friday as they concluded a high-stakes summit in Beijing. While the two leaders did not announce any clear resolutions on Taiwan or major issues like Iran, Trump said they had talked extensively about Taiwan and a long-delayed U.S. arms sale to the self-governed island.

Sitting beside Xi during a meeting at Zhongnanhai, the walled headquarters for China’s ruling Communist Party, Trump said the Chinese leader had “become really a friend” and that they felt similarly about the war in the Middle East.

“We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to settle,” Trump said, without elaborating.

Xi said he had chosen to receive Trump at Zhongnanhai to reciprocate for his 2017 visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. In the comments he made publicly, he avoided wading into specific issues, in contrast to a blunt warning over Taiwan he issued Thursday.

‘Historic and Symbolic’ Visit: XI

Xi described the visit as a “historic and symbolic” milestone. “We have established a new bilateral relationship, based on constructive strategic stability,” he said.

During his flight back to the United States, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that the two leaders had “talked a lot about Taiwan” and discussed “in great detail” a $14 billion weapons deal that the Trump administration has held off on approving to avoid upsetting China.

“I’ll be making decisions,” he said of the deal, without setting out a clear timeline. “But you know, I think the last thing we need right now is a war that’s 9,500 miles away.”

The Chinese government, which has not ruled out the use of force to take over Taiwan, bristles at any U.S. arms sales to the island. Taiwan considers them essential for ensuring its defense against a Chinese invasion. Since 1979, Taiwan has received American arms worth tens of billions of dollars, although much of this arsenal is now aged.

The Trump-Xi summit was the first U.S. presidential visit to China in nearly a decade and was a test of whether the detente between the two nations would continue. It was heavy on public praise and pleasantries. At a lavish state banquet Thursday evening, Trump invited Xi to visit the White House in September.

In other U.S.-China news:

— Boeing order: Trump told Fox News that Xi had agreed to order 200 airplanes from Boeing. He later repeated that to reporters on Air Force One, adding that there was “a promise” to buy 750 planes “if they do a good job with the 200.” Neither Boeing nor the Chinese have confirmed an agreement.

— Artificial intelligence: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. and China will discuss guardrails on AI, including establishing a protocol for keeping powerful AI models out of the hands of nonstate actors.

— Reaction: A New York Times reporter visited four Chinese cities and talked to residents who described a mixture of amusement and anger, blaming U.S. tensions for a slowing economy and rising fuel prices.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Luke Broadwater, Ana Swanson, David Pierson and Anton Troianovski/Kenny Holston
c. 2026 The New York Times Company

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