Trump-Xi meet exposes gaps: China silent on Iran, US skips mentioning Taiwan

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held high-stakes talks in Beijing on Thursday (May 14). Following their “extremely positive” meeting, the US and China released their official statements on the views exchanged during the key discussions. While both hailed the meeting between the two leaders, they omitted the mention of certain claims made by each other. The summit comes amid heightened tensions over Iran and Taiwan, which remained one of the key focus points in the talks, along with trade tensions.

White House on Iran

In an official statement following the Trump-Xi talks, the White House said that the two leaders had a “good meeting”. Speaking of Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, the statement read that the two sides agreed that the strait must remain open to support the free flow of energy. It added that Xi also emphasised China’s opposition to the militarisation of the strategic waterway and any tolls. According to the US statement, Xi also expressed interest in buying American oil. Both nations also agreed that Iran can never have nuclear weapons.

“The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy. President Xi also made clear China's opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China's dependence on the Strait in the future. Both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” the White House said.

China’s statement on Iran

Interestingly, China’s statement did not focus on Iran or even mention the country’s name in its official statement released by the foreign ministry. It also omitted any mention of the Strait of Hormuz or nukes. The lengthy statement talked about strengthening relations between the US and China in various sectors and fronts, from trade to diplomacy to military.

The only slight mention of the conflict in the Middle East was that “the two presidents exchanged views on major international and regional issues, such as the Middle East situation, the Ukraine crisis, and the Korean Peninsula.”

Later in the day, Trump claimed that Xi had offered China’s help to open the Strait of Hormuz as tensions continued in the Gulf region. He added that Xi has vowed not to send military equipment to aid Iran in its war against the US and Israel.

“He said he's not going to give military equipment… he said that strongly,” Trump told the “Hannity” show on Fox News, following the talks between the two leaders in Beijing.

“He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open, and said ‘if I can be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help,’” Trump added.

‘Most important issue’ or not?

In an unusual move, Xi gave a blunt warning to Trump over Taiwan in Thursday’s summit in Beijing, warning of a possible fallout between the two nations if the issue is not handled properly. According to the statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry, Xi stressed that Taiwan remains the “most important issue” between the US and China. China even warned the US to exercise “extra caution in handling the Taiwan question”, threatening clashes and conflicts. However, the United States probably doesn’t believe so, as it completely decided to skip the mention of Taiwan in its statements.

“President Xi stressed that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations. 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. Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the US. The US side must exercise extra caution in handling the Taiwan question,” the statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry read.

Since arriving in Beijing, Trump has not mentioned Taiwan even once and has even ignored multiple questions from reporters on the subject. The White House also decided to omit its mention.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent jumped to his rescue, saying that Trump would speak more on Taiwan “in the coming days.”

“It wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up,” Bessent, who is with Trump in China, told US business news network CNBC. He added, “I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from him in the coming days.”

“President Trump understands the issues here and understands the sensitivities around all this. Anyone who has been saying otherwise does not understand the negotiating style of Donald Trump,” Bessant said.