&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump-Xi Summit: Startling omissions behind the ‘great meeting’")
Donald Trump called his summit with Xi Jinping a “great meeting”. The two leaders emerged with eight understandings covering trade, artificial intelligence, Iran and counternarcotics cooperation. But on the issue that is fundamental to China-US relations, at least as per Beijing, there was no announced breakthrough.
Taiwan is conspicuously absent from China’s final list of eight deliverables and understandings. It is also missing from the White House fact sheet celebrating the summit’s achievements, even though China’s official account of the talks confirms that Xi raised the issue directly with Trump.
That omission matters because Xi explicitly linked Washington’s handling of Taiwan to the very foundation of future China-US strategic cooperation.
Taiwan remains the unresolved fault line
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China’s official account quotes Xi as telling Trump, “It is hoped that the U.S. side will adhere to the correct position of opposing ‘Taiwan independence,’ and handle the Taiwan question with caution, so as to lay a solid foundation for China-U.S. strategic cooperation and the development of bilateral relations.”
Yet no Taiwan understanding appears among the summit’s final deliverables. The silence is particularly striking after Xi’s warning during Trump’s visit to China in May that mishandling Taiwan could lead the two countries to “clashes and even conflicts”. Months later, the issue that is central to the political foundation of the relationship remains unresolved.
A curious World War II reference
Both governments recalled that China and the United States fought as allies during World War II. Washington went further. The White House said America’s forward military presence since World War II has preserved a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”. China’s statement omits that assertion. The omission only raises curiosity regarding differences between the two sides over the US military role in Asia.
Iran emerges as significant common ground
Iran may be among Washington’s most consequential outcomes of the summit. Trump and Xi agreed that Iran should not develop nuclear weapons and that no country or institution should be allowed to impose tolls on international waterways. Given China’s economic relationship with Tehran and the importance of the Strait of Hormuz to global energy flows, Beijing’s public agreement gives Washington significant common ground on two key objectives.
Agreements cannot hide the central divide
The summit produced tangible areas of cooperation. But the absence of a Taiwan understanding is harder to overlook precisely because Xi himself linked the issue to the foundations of China-US strategic cooperation. Trump and Xi may have found ways to stabilise their rivalry but on the issue with perhaps the greatest potential to destabilise it, the fundamental disagreement remains.
