Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump attend a meeting.
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, speaks as he is greeted by Chinese President Xi Jinping at Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing, China, Friday, May 15, 2026.
says he’s not yet made a determination on whether a major U.S. sale of arms to Taiwan can move forward, following his three-day visit to China. Speaking to reporters as he flew back on Air Force One on Friday, Trump said he’d not decided on the sale, but he added, “I will make a determination. ” Trump’s Republican administration has authorized the sale but it has yet to move forward.
China opposes the deal and has suggested that Washington’s relationship withtold him that he was opposed to Taiwan’s independence.
“I heard him out,” Trump said. “I didn’t make a comment. ”, claiming important progress in stabilizing U.S.-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Xi welcomed Trump at his official residence, Zhongnanhai, on Friday for their final engagement of the summit before the U.S. leader’s return to Washington.
The leaders took a short walk through the grounds that feature ancient trees and Chinese roses, and strolled through a covered passageway with green columns and archways painted with birds and traditional Chinese mountain scenes. Over tea and lunch, Trump and Xi — with top aides and translators in tow — huddled for nearly three hours of talks before the U.S. leader completed his three-day visit to China. Xi, for his part, called it a “milestone” visit.
“We have established a new bilateral relationship, or rather a constructive, strategic, stable relationship,” he said. But the optimistic outlook collides with some difficult truths about the thorniest issues between the two superpowers. , even though Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Xi had in their conversations offered to help.
In recent weeks, the U.S. State Department has accused Chinese firms of providing satellite imagery to the Iranian government and the Treasury Department has moved to target Chinese oil refineries accused of buying oil from Tehran, as well as shippers of the oil. Trump appeared impressed by the bucolic grounds, remarking the roses were the most beautiful he had ever seen. Xi promised to send him some rose seeds.
The compound is wrapped around two artificial lakes that had been built for the pleasure of emperors. Zhongnanhai is often compared to the White House, the Kremlin or South Korea’s Blue House. But unlike the other presidential residences, Zhongnanhai does not serve as the main venue for diplomatic visits. The invitation appeared to be an attempt by Xi to extend a personal touch to a U.S. leader who appreciates big gestures.
“I think he’s a warm person, actually. But he’s all business,” Trump said of Xi in the Fox News interview.
“There’s no games. ”Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi saw a smiling Trump off at the airport. And schoolchildren dressed in Air Force One’s light blue and white colors waved American and Chinese flags in a coordinated movement as the U.S. president arrived to board the plane. Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a meeting on the sidelines of their visit to the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing, China, Friday, May 15, 2026.
President Donald Trump is greeted by officials before boarding Air Force One, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing. President Donald Trump walks with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Beijing. President Donald Trump walks with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a meeting on the sidelines of their visit to the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing, China, Friday, May 15, 2026. Xi’s sharp language on Taiwan loomed large over the visit, with Chinese government officials amplifying that differences on the self-ruled island pose the biggest risk to U.S.-Chinese relations.told NBC News that U.S. policy toward Taiwan was “unchanged” and cautioned that it would be “a terrible mistake” for China to try to take Taiwan by force.
He also framed Xi’s comments as standard practice.
“They always raise it on their side. We always make clear our position, and we move on to the other topics,” said Rubio, who was among senior aides to join Trump for the talks.
China in recent weeks has sought to put more focus on its view that Taiwan sits at the “core” of its interests and is key to ensuring a stable relationship with the U.S. Trump at moments has shown ambivalence toward Taiwan, raising speculation that he could be open to loosening ties with Taipei. But the U.S. has yet to begin fulfilling the arms sales, and Trump had said he expected to discuss the matter with Xi in Beijing.
He’s also groused that Taiwan “stole” America’s semiconductor business and— effectively closed since the start of the Iran conflict — needs to be reopened to support global energy demands About 20% of the world’s oil flowed through the strait before the war started on Feb. 28.
“We feel very similar about we want it to end,” the president said with Xi at this side. “We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon.
” White House officials say Xi was also opposed to any implementation of tolls on vessels crossing the strait and expressed interest in China potentially purchasing U.S. oil to reduce Chinese dependence on Gulf oil in the future.the importance of talks with Xi on the 11-week-old Iran war that has led to surging energy prices and threatens to plunge the global economy into recession if the conflict does not conclude soon. But before Air Force One could land in Beijing, Rubio said administration officials would make the case to the Chinese officials about why they should be invested in prodding Iran to come to terms to end the war.
Indeed, the Chinese, who have been critical of the U.S. and Israeli bombardment of Iran, hold unique leverage as Iran’s biggest trading partner. The Chinese government has managed to weather the economic damage caused by the war with the help of its strategic oil reserves, but that backstop is not limitless. Economists say the Iran conflict could still have a big impact on China’s export-driven economy.
The White House, ahead of the visit, insisted that Trump wouldn’t be making the trip without an eye toward securing results before he leaves, suggesting there could beEx-aide to California Democrats admits guilt in scheme to steal campaign funds from health secretaryThe U.S. side had been hoping to nail down Chinese commitments to buy U.S. soybeans and beef. Trump told Fox News that Xi had indicated a commitment for China to buy 200 Boeing jets from the U.S. The leaders on Thursday discussed increasing U.S. agricultural purchases by the Chinese and opportunities for both sides to expand investment into each other’s markets, according to the White House.
Trump administration officials also want to work toward establishing a Board of Trade with China to address commercial differences between the countries. Trump, whose delegation for the trip included the CEOs of Mastercard and Visa, said he also raised with Xi expanding access to the China market for the U.S.-based credit card companies. Mistreanu reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Huizhong Wu in Bangkok, Darlene Superville and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.
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