Trump leaves Beijing with few wins but warm words for Xi

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]So, we had a great stay. It was an amazing period of time.

[00:00:06]President Xi is an incredible guy. US President Donald Trump talked up his two-day meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday, but he left China with no major breakthroughs on trade or tangible help from Beijing to end the Iran war. Ryan Hass is the director of the China Center at the Brookings Institution. I'm not sure that the results of the trip have have exceeded expectations. They've seemed to be pretty modest, but it's worth noting that this is the first meeting of several that are planned between both leaders this year.

[00:00:40]So, hopefully provides an on-ramp to more productive conversations down the road. Xi issued a stark warning to Trump that any mishandling of China's top concern, Taiwan, could spiral into conflict. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has long opposed US weapon sales to the island, which Beijing sees as interference in its internal affairs.

[00:01:03]The United States, despite lacking formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, remains Taiwan's most important international backer and largest supplier of arms. At the moment, a major US weapon sale to Taiwan worth up to $14 billion is waiting on Trump's approval, but on Friday, the president said he hasn't decided whether to proceed.

[00:01:26]>> On Taiwan, he feels very strongly. I made no commitment either way. See what happens.

[00:01:32]What about the arms sales to Taiwan?

[00:01:35]I'll make a determination over the next really short period. You're not necessarily going to go ahead. It was your proposal. I'll make a determination. I'm going to see. I have to speak to the person that right now, as you know, you know who he is, that's running Taiwan. It was unclear if Trump was referring to Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te. On the business front, Trump touted a deal between Boeing and China.

[00:01:56]A lot of great trade deals including over 200 planes from Boeing with a promise of 750 planes. This would be by far the largest order ever if they do a good job with the 200, which I'm sure they will. However, this was significantly fewer than the roughly 500 jets that sources told Reuters had been under discussion. And Boeing stock fell 3% Friday afternoon. There were scant details of agricultural deals made and no signs of a breakthrough on selling Nvidia's advanced H200 AI chips to China. Despite CEO Jensen Huang's dramatic last-minute addition to the trip. When President Trump last traveled to Beijing in 2017, there were elaborate signing ceremonies.

[00:02:41]The two sides announced upwards of 250 billion dollars in commercial deals.

[00:02:47]The outcomes this time around pale in comparison.

[00:02:50]There were no signing ceremonies. The Chinese did not confirm or announce any major new investments. The absence of these outcomes is notable. Well, on Friday before the leaders met for tea, China's foreign ministry issued a blunt statement outlining its frustration with the war with Iran. This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue, the ministry said, adding that China supported efforts to reach a peace deal in a war that has disrupted energy supplies and the global economy. Trump said the leaders had discussed Iran and felt very similar.

[00:03:24]Though she did not comment. On the flight back home, Trump added that he wasn't asking for any favors on Iran.