Maxim Shemetov ; POOL/EPA
Chinese President Xi Jinping greets US President Donald Trump during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China.
The economic and commercial meeting was attended by several major North American businesspeople, such as Elon Musk and Tim Cook, who were promised “openness”. But the Chinese president left warning (or threat).
Chinese President Xi Jinping this Wednesday warned his North American counterpart, Donald Trump, of a conflict between the two countries, if Washington does not deal well with the Taiwan issue, according to Chinese state television.
“The Taiwan issue is the most important in Sino-North American relations. If it is well managed, relations between the two countries can remain globally stable. If it is poorly managed, the two countries will confront each other, and may even enter into conflict”declared Xi, using a term in Mandarin that does not necessarily mean military conflict.
Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin two days of talks with the Chinese President. The American leader was received in the morning by Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People, a building in Tiananmen Square that houses the National People’s Assembly, the country’s parliament.
Among the topics under discussion are the Iranbilateral trade, Taiwan and even an eventual tripartite nuclear weapons agreement between Washington, Beijing and Moscow.
We had to talk about Taiwan
The issue of Taiwan weighs heavily on the agenda given Beijing’s displeasure with the US $11 billion (€9.3 billion) arms package approved for the island.
Beijing insists that the issue “cannot be avoided” and is looking for signs, however subtle, of reduced US support for the island.
Before the visit, a Chinese government spokeswoman stressed that China’s determination to oppose Taiwan’s independence is “as firm as a rock” and that its ability to crush any attempt at secession is unshakable.
The comments came after a recent speech by Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te, at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, in which he stated that democracy is Taiwan’s “most precious asset” and that the Taiwanese people “know very well that democracy is earned, not granted”.
“The Taiwanese people have never backed down in the face of growing external challenges and will never submit to pressure. Taiwan is a sovereign and independent nation (…). No attempt to isolate Taiwan will alter our determination to participate in the international community”, the island’s leader also highlighted in a video message.
For more than seven decades, the United States has been a central actor in the context of disputes between Beijing and Taipei, with Washington is legally committed to provide Taiwan with the necessary means for its self-defense and, although it does not maintain diplomatic ties with the island, it could defend it in the event of a conflict with China.
In addition to addressing the issue of arms sales, Xi could also take advantage of the meeting with Trump to try to change Washington’s official position in relation to Taiwan, either by promoting a declaration of opposition to Taiwan’s independence or by seeking a more favorable formulation of the Chinese position on the so-called ‘reunification’.
China “will continue to open up more and more” to the world
The Chinese President promised the delegation of businesspeople who accompanied Trump that China “will continue to open up more and more” to the world, reported the Chinese state press.
“US companies are deeply involved in China’s reform and opening up, and both parties benefit from this. The door of China’s opening up will continue to open wider and wider,” said Xi, quoted by the official Xinhua news agency.
The Chinese leader also praised the reinforcement of “mutually beneficial cooperation” between the two countries and said he was convinced that “North American companies will have even better prospects in China”.
In images broadcast by Chinese state television CCTV, the group of businesspeople — including the executive presidents of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, of Apple, Tim Cook, and of Tesla, Elon Musk — can be seen entering the Great Hall of the People, where delegations from the USA and China were meeting.
According to the state-run newspaper Diário do Povo, Trump claimed to have taken prominent representatives of the North American business sector to Beijing, explaining that he had rejected the presence of “second-level” executives, which, he assured, reflected the companies’ respect for China and Xi.
Later, the businesspeople were seen leaving the building — the heart of Chinese political power, located close to Tiananmen Square — to board the bus used to travel around the capital.
“Wonderful, lots of good things”, said Elon Musk to journalists waiting outside, with Jensen Huang stating that the meetings “went well” and that “Xi and President Trump were incredible”, while Tim Cook simply made a peace sign with his fingers followed by a gesture of approval.
The business delegation accompanying Trump also includes officials from Boeing, BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, Meta and Goldman Sachs, highlighting the economic and commercial character of the visit, in which the war in Iran and the issue of Taiwan are also on the table.
Xi has a reciprocal visit planned for later this year, which would be his first visit to the United States since Trump resumed office in 2025.
