Trump-Xi Summit: US and China Disagree on What Was Agreed

President Donald Trump left China on Friday after a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. While Washington hailed bilateral trade deals, Beijing warned the US not to cross red lines on Taiwan and stated that the US-Israel war with Iran should never have begun.

Both sides issued detailed statements on what Trump and Xi discussed, but they overlapped only on limited areas. White House summaries released Thursday touched on issues not in the Chinese Foreign Ministry's statement, and vice versa.

On Trade Deals

Trump said several business agreements were reached between the US and China during his two days in Beijing. "We have made some great trade deals for both countries," Trump said at the summit's conclusion. Xi also met with American business leaders accompanying Trump.

Specifically, Trump told Fox News on Friday that China agreed to buy 200 jetliners from Boeing—less than half the 500 the market had anticipated, causing Boeing's stock to drop over 4% on Friday. If finalized, this would be China's first purchase of US jets in nearly a decade. However, China did not mention this or any other trade deal in its post-summit statement. Boeing has not confirmed the deal either.

Other trade agreements remain unconfirmed or undisclosed by either side. There was no sign of a breakthrough deal for the US to sell advanced Nvidia AI chips to China, despite CEO Jensen Huang joining the trip last-minute. On Thursday, Xi said China would further open up to American businesses but did not clarify what that meant commercially. The Chinese Foreign Ministry statement only said: "President Xi Jinping emphasized that China-US economic and trade relations are mutually beneficial and win-win." A White House statement on X on Thursday also noted the two sides discussed "expanding market access for US businesses in China and increasing Chinese investment in our industries." Additionally, they discussed boosting purchases of US agricultural products. However, Chinese statements did not mention any specific business or trade agreements.

On Drug Trafficking

Since starting his second term in January last year, Trump has accused China of fueling the US fentanyl crisis and cited it as one reason for broad tariffs on Chinese exports. After the summit, the White House stated: "The Presidents also stressed the need to build on progress in preventing the flow of fentanyl precursors into the United States." Yet Chinese Foreign Ministry statements did not mention fentanyl or drug flows into the US.

On the Iran War

Both the US and China said the Iran war was discussed, but their accounts of what was said differed. The White House said: "Both countries agreed that Iran can never have nuclear weapons." Meanwhile, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement on Friday did not explicitly state Iran should never obtain nukes, saying: "This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue. It is important to stabilize the de-escalation momentum, maintain a political settlement orientation, engage in dialogue and consultation, and achieve a resolution on the Iranian nuclear issue and other issues that addresses the concerns of all parties."

Iran has never officially declared an intent to build nuclear weapons, and China previously cooperated with the US, European nations, and Russia to secure the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which constrained Tehran's nuclear program. Iran is believed to have about 440 kg of uranium enriched to 60%. The 90% enrichment threshold is required to produce nuclear weapons.

The White House also said "both sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy." Since early March, Iran has restricted shipping through the strait, allowing vessels from selected countries but requiring them to negotiate transit with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). A White House statement after the Trump-Xi meeting said: "President Xi Jinping also made clear that China opposes the militarization of the strait and any efforts to charge fees for its use, and expressed interest in purchasing more US oil to reduce China's future reliance on the strait." But the Chinese statement did not mention Iran's fees, militarization of the strait, or China's interest in buying more US oil. It acknowledged that "the conflict has caused a heavy burden on global economic growth, supply chains, international trade order, and the stability of global energy supplies, harming the common interests of the international community." Trump and Xi had a final meeting at Zhongnanhai, where Trump said he and Xi felt "very similarly" on Iran, but Xi did not directly confirm Trump's claim.

On US-China Relations

A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said: "The two presidents agreed on a new vision to build constructive China-US relations with strategic stability, to provide strategic guidance for China-US relations for the next three years and beyond." White House statements did not mention a three-year timeline and focused more on developing US-China economic ties rather than strategic stability.

On Taiwan

"President Xi Jinping stressed that the Taiwan issue is the most important issue in China-US relations," a statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website said. "If handled properly, bilateral relations will be generally stable. If not, the two countries will have conflict and even confrontation, putting the entire relationship in grave danger." White House post-summit statements did not mention Taiwan, and Trump ignored reporters' questions about his stance on Taiwan during his time in Beijing. While China considers Taiwan part of its territory, Taiwan's government maintains that the self-governing island of 23 million people is a sovereign nation. The US government officially acknowledges that China considers Taiwan part of its territory but does not clearly state whether it agrees with that position. The US broke off official diplomatic ties with Taiwan decades ago but remains committed to defending the self-governing democracy under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.

Common Ground

Statements from both sides said Trump and Xi discussed strengthening US-China relations as well as "major issues" concerning the two nations and the world. Washington said the US and China saw eye-to-eye on several matters, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry echoed this, noting Trump and Xi "reached a series of new common understandings." Both sides also confirmed that Trump and Xi discussed the Iran war and expressed concerns about the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.