Xi Jinping urged Trump to be cautious on the Taiwan issue due to the risk of conflict between the US and China
Xi stated that the US and China should be "partners, not competitors."
Photo: Brendan Smialowski — Pool/Getty Images
On Thursday, during a meeting in Beijing, Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned US President Donald Trump that imprudent actions regarding Taiwan could lead to a "collision" between the two countries.
"The Taiwan issue is the most important topic in China-US relations," Xi stated. "If this issue is approached correctly, bilateral relations can generally remain stable. However, if the approach is incorrect, a collision or even conflict could occur between the two countries, putting all China-US relations in a very dangerous situation."
He added that Taiwan's independence is fundamentally incompatible with peace in the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, peace in the strait, according to him, is the biggest "point of convergence between China and the US."
The meeting in Beijing lasted two hours — significantly longer than expected — and was reportedly dedicated to trade issues and the war in Iran.
Xi stated that the US and China should be "partners, not rivals." He insisted on postponing or reducing US arms sales to Taiwan, which China considers its territory.
After the talks, Donald Trump stated that the US and China have a "great joint future" ahead, calling Xi a "great leader" and a "friend." He described the talks as "excellent" and told reporters that China is a beautiful country. However, he did not comment on Xi's statements about Taiwan.
Later, the White House reported that the leaders of the two countries "discussed ways to strengthen economic cooperation between our countries, including expanding access for American companies to the Chinese market and increasing Chinese investment in our industries."
Trump arrived in China accompanied by a delegation that included more than a dozen heads of major companies, including Jensen Huang of Nvidia, Tim Cook of Apple, as well as Tesla and SpaceX owner and CEO Elon Musk. He is trying to persuade China to increase purchases of American goods.
During a meeting with heads of American companies, Xi stated that China will become even more open to American business, emphasizing that US companies will have broader opportunities in the Chinese market.
The White House also reported that Presidents Trump and Xi agreed that Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons under any circumstances, and the Strait of Hormuz must remain open.
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