Trump met with Xi in Beijing

ArmInfo. US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in Beijing on the morning of May 14, lasting over two hours. During the meeting, both sides expressed optimism about normalizing relations, despite differences over Taiwan, trade, and the war in Iran. These were the first face-to-face talks between Trump and Xi since their meeting in South Korea in October 2025.

Xi Jinping used the opening of the summit to call for cooperation between the world's two largest economies, declaring that China and the United States should be "partners, not adversaries," despite growing strategic rivalry and increasing global instability. Trump called Xi Jinping a "friend" and said that "relations between China and the United States will be better than ever."

"We're going to have a fantastic future," Trump said. "Such respect for China. The work you're doing. You're a great leader. I tell everyone you're a great leader. Sometimes people don't like it when I say that, but I say it anyway because it's the truth. I always tell the truth."

Reuters reported that the US and China are expected to reach an agreement this week on a managed mechanism for trade in "non-critical" goods. Each side could identify goods worth about $30 billion on which they could reduce tariffs and sell them to each other without crossing national security "red lines."

During a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that if the Taiwan issue is handled incorrectly, conflicts could arise between the two countries, which would seriously jeopardize bilateral relations.

This was stated in a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, detailing the leaders' meeting in Beijing.

According to Xi Jinping, maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is the "greatest common interest" of the two countries. He emphasized that the Taiwan question is a key issue in US-China relations.

The Chinese leader noted that with proper management of this issue, relations can remain stable, but otherwise, "conflicts are possible, which will seriously jeopardize bilateral ties."

Xi also stated that "Taiwan independence" and peace in the Taiwan Strait are incompatible "like fire and water," emphasizing the need for the US to exercise extreme caution.

During the meeting, the two sides also discussed the situation in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Furthermore, the leaders agreed to support the successful holding of the APEC and G20 summits.