President Trump wrapped up his whirlwind three-day trip to China after tea and lunch with Xi Jinping early Friday morning, Eastern time.
The commander-in-chief and his Chinese counterpart discussed a wide range of pressing issues over the course of the historic summit, aimed at shoring up relations between Washington and Beijing and opening up the communist country to American businesses.
Here are the top takeaways from Trump’s trip.
1. Taiwan remains a flashpoint
Xi raised the issue of Taiwan with Trump right out of the gate, but the president has thus far refused to budge on changing the long-standing US policy toward the self-governing, democratic island that China claims as its own.
“President Xi stressed to President Trump that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning wrote on X Wednesday. “If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy.
“‘Taiwan independence’ and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water.”
Mao’s statement concluded with a quote from the meeting attributed to Xi: “Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the US.”
Since the late 1970s, the US “One China” policy has acknowledged Beijing’s claim to the island and avoided directly advocating for Taiwanese sovereignty.
In an interview with “NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted Xi’s protests had no effect.
“US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today and as of the meeting that we had here today,” he said. “It was raised. They always raise it on their side. We always make clear our position and we move on to the other topics.”
2. Xi shows willingness to help Trump on Iran
The two heads of state appeared to have found common ground on Iran – with Xi even offering to assist Trump in the region, according to the president.
“President Xi would like to see a deal made, he would, he would like to see a deal made. And he did offer. He said, ‘If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help,’” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“Anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of a relationship with him,” Trump added. “He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open. He said, ‘If I could be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help.’”
An estimated 45% to 50% of China’s crude oil imports flow through the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively been shut down due to the war.
Rubio noted the Chinese indicated “they are not in favor of militarizing the Straits of Hormuz, and they’re not in favor of a tolling system, and that’s our position.”
3. Trump teases trade deals and investment — though the summit was light on specifics
Trump brought dozens of business moguls along for the trip and teased landing “massive” investments and striking “fantastic deals,” but details have been limited.
Trump and Xi did not jointly announce specific deals in their public appearances in Beijing, but details could be forthcoming.
“China’s going to invest hundreds of billions of dollars with those people that were in that room today,” Trump told Hannity, referring to the dozens of CEOs, including Elon Musk and Jensen Huang, that he brought into the initial meeting with Xi.
In the same interview, Trump said Xi agreed to order 200 Boeing jets and expressed interest in purchasing soybeans and oil from the US.
“You know, last time we signed like 36 deals. This time it’s much bigger than that,” Trump said, referring to his 2017 visit to China.
At Xi’s compound in Zhongnanhai, Trump announced, “We’ve made some fantastic trade deals, great for both countries.”
4. Xi ‘open’ to opening up China for US business
Prior to his arrival, Trump said his top agenda item on the trip was to get Xi to agree to “open up” China to American business.
Xi reportedly told the CEOs traveling with the president that “China’s door will only open wider” and “expressed belief that US companies will enjoy even broader prospects in China,” according to a state-run newspaper.
Meanwhile, Trump told Fox News that Xi agreed to “open some of” China to US business.
“They open it in stages,” the president said.
“I’d like to just see him open it, but you know, they guard their country, and they, [Xi] cherishes his country.”
5. Pomp and pageantry reign supreme
Xi pulled out all the stops to impress Trump, starting with a red-carpet welcome at the Beijing airport complete with a military band, honor guard and 300 singing youths waving American and Chinese flags.
The red carpet was rolled out again at the Great Hall of the People, where the much-anticipated first handshake between Trump and Xi took place, followed by the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a military parade and more excited schoolchildren.
Not to be outdone, Trump flexed by bringing an entourage of business leaders, like Musk, Huang and Apple’s Tim Cook, and top administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (who was ostensibly sanctioned by China and barred from entering the country in 2020).
Trump extended an invitation to Xi to visit Washington in September and pledged to be “reciprocal, like reciprocal trade” if the Chinese leader takes him up on the offer.
6. Trump and XI built on their personal connections – but the US-China relationship could still go south
Trump heaped praise on Xi throughout the visit, calling his counterpart a “friend” and describing their relationship as “very strong.”
Meanwhile, Xi invoked Trump’s famous campaign slogan during the state banquet, arguing that “achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand.”
Later in the trip, the Chinese leader recalled the “hospitality extended to me in 2017 at Mar-a-Lago” and promised to gift Trump rose seeds from the plants at the Zhongnanhai Garden.
However, both men acknowledged relations could take a negative turn based on leadership decisions.
Xi noted the burning question of whether the US and China can “overcome the Thucydides trap” – the concept that severe risks arise when an emerging power challenges a stronger, more established global authority – remains, though he appeared hopeful relations would remain amicable.
For his part, Trump argued on Truth Social that Xi viewed the US as a “declining nation” under former President Joe Biden.
“Two years ago, we were, in fact, a Nation in decline. On that, I fully agree with President Xi! But now, the United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before!” Trump wrote.
