US President Donald Trump is headed home to Washington after spending two days with China's Xi Jinping in Beijing. Both leaders struck a cordial tone, but no concrete agreements were announced. Follow DW.
The high-profile Beijing summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping ended with bombastic, positive statements — especially from the Trump White House, which called the US president "the dealmaker-in-chief" — but with little info known about concrete deals between the two rival superpowers.
Read the full story here Conflicts remain after Trump-Xi summit ends To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/5DpNd Skip next section Trump says undecided on weapons sales to Taiwan 05/15/2026 May 15, 2026 Trump says undecided on weapons sales to Taiwan US President Donald Trump in an interview with Fox News aired after meeting China's Xi Jinping said that there was nothing for Taiwan to worry about on the US position towards the self-ruled island, but added he "doesn't want somebody go independent and we're supposed to go travel 9,500 miles to fight a war." Under the Taiwan Relations Act the US is bound to provide defensive weaponry to Taiwan, but is not bound by treaty to use military force to defend the island.
In December, a massive $11 billion weapons package for Taiwan was approved by Trump's administration, as was another $14 billion arms sale in January. However, Trump must approve both packages for them to move forwards.
Asked about approving the billions of dollars in US weapons sales , Trump said "we're going to see what happens … I may do it , I may not do it." On Friday, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said it had taken note of Trump's statements, and thanked the president for having approved previous arms sales.
"Regarding Taiwan-U.S. arms sales, they are not only a security commitment to Taiwan explicitly set out by the United States in the Taiwan Relations Act, but also a form of joint deterrence against regional threats," Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"We're not looking to have wars, and if you kept it the way it is, I think China's going to be OK with that," Trump told Fox News' Bret Baier in an interview. "But we're not looking at somebody saying, 'let's go independent because the United States is backing us.'" The statements follow a high stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who on Thursday warned the US that relations with China hinge upon the question of Taiwan and the extent of US support to the self-ruled island.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring it under its control. Xi has vowed to "crush" any attempt by Taiwan towards independence .
Any rhetorical move by Washington towards "opposing" independence, would represent a win for Beijing, and an upheaval for Taipei.
"Nothing's changed" on US policy towards Taiwan, Trump said in the Fox interview.
Why China is surging its nuclear forces To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/5Dp7F Skip next section China says agreed with US to expand 2-way trade, resolve market access concerns 05/15/2026 May 15, 2026 China says agreed with US to expand 2-way trade, resolve market access concerns China and the US have agreed to expand two-way trade and resolve market access concerns, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday.
In a Foreign Ministry statement, Wang said Beijing and Washington have agreed to establish a "Board of Trade" and "Board of Investment." They have also agreed to resolve concerns over market access for agricultural products, the ministry said.
The world's two largest economies also agreed to expand two-way trade "under [a] reciprocal tariff reduction framework," Wang said, breaking away from a trade war reignited last year by Trump's tariff policy.
"The delegations of the two countries reached overall positive results," Wang said in the statement, without sharing specifics.
Teams on both sides "are still consulting on the relevant details and will finalize the outcomes as soon as possible," he added .
During a banquet dinner in Beijing on Thursday, Trump extended Xi an invitation to the White House for a visit on September 24.
Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said Taipei was maintaining strong communication with the United States and would deepen cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific.
US President Donald Trump had said he discussed Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping when the two leaders met, but did not share details of the conversation.
The issue of Taiwanese independence is a red line for Beijing , which considers Taiwan to be part of China , that will one day be "reunited" with the mainland. Analysts ahead of the summit had expected Xi would push Trump on softening US support for Taipei.
On Facebook, Lin said many Taiwanese had been "concerned" by Trump's meeting with Xi.
Speaking aboard Air Force One to reporters about Taiwan talks with Xi, Trump said he "heard him out" and did not take a position, adding he had made no commitments either way.
About the two massive US arms deals for Taiwan still on the table that need Trump's approval to move forward , the US president only said "I will make a determination." The US is Taiwan's main defense backer, and the issue of arms sales is a sore point in US-China ties.
"We'll be fine," Trump said when asked about whether he believes there's a risk of conflict with China.
Trump also said Xi asked directly whether the US would defend Taiwan if China attacked the island, but that he declined to answer.
"There's only one person that knows that, and it is me. I'm the only person," Trump said. "That question was asked to me today by President Xi. I said, I don't talk about that." China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has long opposed US weapons sales to the island, which Beijing sees as interference in its internal affairs.
The US, despite lacking formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, remains Taiwan's biggest defense backer.
An official announcement is soon to come, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, noting that Moscow didn't want to get ahead of its partner.
Preparations for the visit have been completed and coordinated, TASS reported Peskov as saying.
Russia and China share strong ties and Beijing has provided an economic lifeline for Moscow amid the war in Ukraine.
"We can breathe a sigh of relief" at this stage, Walker said, but the "story is not over yet" since we're yet to hear from Donald Trump who mainly stuck to the script over the course of the summit.
On Taiwan: "US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today and as of the meeting that we had here today. It was raised. They always raise it on their side. We always make clear our position, and we move on to the other topics," Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News.
Walker noted the use of "as of today" that might signal that there could be more communication that we can expect from Trump in the coming days.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that he expects Trump to say more on Taiwan soon too .
On AI: Both Trump and China are locked in competition over AI, Walker said. Tesla's Elon Musk and Nvidia's Jensen Huang stayed close to Trump during the welcome ceremony, symbolizing how important AI was to US-China ties.
DW correspondent in Taiwan, Rik Glauert, said all of that shows just how important "strategic connectedness" is — that both sides have a chance to work together but there's also an underlying desire to maintain dominance.
Trump says he and Xi agree on Iran, need to open strait To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/5DnMc Skip next section China makes clear closer ties with US involve question of Taiwan, expert says 05/15/2026 May 15, 2026 China makes clear closer ties with US involve question of Taiwan, expert says "China has been following its strategic focus to a T" and has been undertaking sweeping efforts to strengthen its military, political analyst Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook told DW.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who heads China's military as chairman of the Central Military Commission, has made it a top priority and relentlessly pushed for progress.
Chinese businesses have rapidly embraced AI, facilitating its swift and widespread adoption in almost every possible field.
In this sphere of competitiveness, she said, Xi made it clear that any meaningful improvement in relations with the US would come with conditions — notably on Taiwan.
Xi delivers warning about Taiwan issue Chinese state media reported Thursday that Xi told Trump that the Taiwan issue was the "most important issue" in China-US relations.
"If mishandled, the two nations will experience collision or even clashes, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a highly dangerous situation," Xinhua News Agency quoted Xi as saying.
The Day with Nicole Frölich: Warm words — and a warning To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/5Dmw7 Skip next section Trump and Xi tried to stabilize relations but China remains a rival, says expert 05/15/2026 May 15, 2026 Trump and Xi tried to stabilize relations but China remains a rival, says expert Political scientist Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook told DW that the relationship between the US and China has been characterized by economic rivalry for many years, and that's unlikely to change.
China has an interest in making sure that the US lifts sanctions, and that could potentially be a signal that could reset relations, she said.
However, little is known about the extension of the trade truce that the two superpowers reached last October.
Not much has also been announced about Chinese assistance in reopening the Strait of Hormuz , which many Asian allies rely on, she added.
05/15/2026 May 15, 2026 WATCH: Did Xi outsmart Trump?
As US President Donald Trump concludes his high-stakes trip to China, we ask: who came out on top in the meeting between the world's two biggest superpowers — Donald Trump or Xi Jinping?
The White House says Trump delivered on his promise, calling him the "dealmaker in chief" who gets results.
Follow along as we speak with DW's chief international editor, Richard Walker, DW correspondent in Taiwan, Rik Glauert, and political analyst Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook from the Bertelsmann Foundation.
China's Xi Jinping spoke about a positive turn in relations between the two countries.
"This visit is a historic and landmark visit. Together, we affirmed the new position of a constructive, strategic and stable China-US relationship," the Chinese president said, according to a readout from the state-run CCTV channel.
"The visit is also beneficial to promoting mutual understanding, deepening trust in each other, and increasing the well-being of the people of both countries," Xi added.
The Chinese leader said both countries should carry out the "important consensus" reached during Trump’s visit and keep the relationship on the right track.
Schoolchildren dressed in some of Air Force One's light blue and white colors waved American and Chinese flags.
"Farewell, farewell," they chanted. "Warm farewell!" Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi saw a smiling Trump off at the airport.
Trump turned at the top of the stairs and pumped his fist and waved before entering the aircraft. But he didn't speak with reporters before departing for home.
