Trump and Xi eye business-first relationship after Beijing summit
Axios (Tổng hợp từ Al Jazeera English)
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to reset US-China ties on a business-friendly footing after a summit in Beijing, despite deep differences on Taiwan and Iran. The meeting featured a delegation of top US CEOs and produced a joint statement focused on economic cooperation, but avoided sensitive topics like rare earths and the Strait of Hormuz.
Analysts say early signals suggest the US and China are moving toward a relationship centered on practical areas of mutual interest following President Donald Trump's trip to China, putting aside the turbulence of 2025.
Trump spent three days in Beijing this week meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping, accompanied by a delegation of US CEOs including leaders from Apple, Nvidia, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs.
The meeting came just over six months after the two leaders agreed to a one-year pause in the US-China trade war on the sidelines of a multilateral meeting in South Korea. Although often critical of China's economic policies at home, Trump was cordial with Xi throughout the trip and heaped praise on the Chinese leader.
“It's an honor to be with you, an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the US will be better than ever,” Trump told Xi on Thursday.
The White House statement on the Trump-Xi meeting emphasized common ground, saying the two leaders “discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation” through “expanding market access for American businesses in China and increasing Chinese investment in American industries.”
Notably, the statement made no mention of China's export controls on rare earths — critical materials for technology, defense and energy. China controls virtually the entire sector and has restricted US access.
William Yang, senior analyst for Northeast Asia at the Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that Trump's remarks suggest he will try to split US-China relations into areas where cooperation is possible, avoiding being dominated by geopolitical issues.
For his part, Xi was less effusive but also expressed a desire to move toward a new US-China framework based on “constructive strategic stability,” meaning both sides should “minimize competition, manage differences, and let stability be the foundation of bilateral relations,” according to Yang.
Both leaders appeared to avoid other contentious issues, such as the Taiwan issue — a democracy of 23 million that Beijing claims sovereignty over but Washington unofficially supports. Xi told Trump that Taiwan is the “most important issue” in US-China relations, and mishandling it could lead to “conflict” between the two sides. Beijing opposes Washington's military support for Taiwan and wants the US to take a clearer stance on Taiwan's political status.
While the US does not recognize the Taipei government, it maintains an ambiguous policy on China's territorial claims. However, neither the Chinese nor US statements mentioned whether Trump discussed Taiwan or the future of arms contracts — suggesting he either disagreed with Xi or avoided the topic.
Analysts like Yang say it is still too early to know whether Trump will block or delay a $14 billion weapons deal for Taiwan currently under review. The deal requires Trump's approval to proceed, according to US lawmakers.
Xi was also cautious on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28. Earlier, Trump urged China to encourage Iran to reopen the strait, which once carried one-fifth of global oil annually, due to close ties between Beijing and Tehran. China and Iran signed a 25-year “strategic partnership” in 2021, and Beijing buys 80-90% of Iran's annual oil output.
According to the US statement, Trump raised the issue again during the meeting, and the two leaders “agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must be opened to support the free flow of energy.” The statement also said: “President Xi also made clear China's opposition to the militarization of the strait and any effort to charge usage fees, and expressed interest in buying more US oil to reduce reliance on the strait in the future. Both countries agreed that Iran can never have nuclear weapons.” However, China's statement on the meeting made no mention of Iran or its nuclear program.
Chucheng Feng, founding partner of Beijing-based Hutong Research, told Al Jazeera these omissions reflect that Xi and Trump still disagree on key issues, including Iran, but the overall message from the summit is a desire to move forward. “For Beijing, the most important thing is to find a foundation for the relationship, to set up and reinforce bumpers to avoid surprises or uncontrolled escalation. So issue-by-issue differences are largely secondary,” he said.
