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US-China summit: Trump says he discussed arms sales to Taiwan with Xi
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• Trump leaves Beijing: After wrapping up a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump said he is considering lifting sanctions on Chinese companies that buy Iranian oil as the war drags on. The two days of meetings ended Friday without any substantive agreements on key issues announced, although Trump said “a lot of different problems” were settled.
• Iran war looms: The Iran war loomed large over the summit, with Trump saying he and Xi agreed Tehran should not have a nuclear weapon. Following the summit, Iran’s foreign minister said the country welcomes any diplomatic efforts from China.
• Taiwan spotlighted: Trump said he and Xi discussed Taiwan and US arms sales to the island “in great detail” during their meetings. Earlier in the summit, Xi said Taiwan was “the most important issue in China-US relations”
Stocks fell, oil prices climbed and bond yields surged Friday as a cautious tone spread on Wall Street and investors reckoned with concerns about resurgent inflation.
The Dow fell 425 points, or 0.85%, retreating below the 50,000-point threshold. The S&P 500 sank 1%, and the Nasdaq fell 1.35%, each pulling back from record highs set Thursday.
Brent crude oil rose 3% and surpassed $109 per barrel. US crude oil gained 3.3% and hit $104.50 per barrel.
Bonds fell, pushing yields higher, as investors wrestled with inflation nerves and uncertainty about whether the Federal Reserve might eventually have to raise interest rates to combat inflation.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield, which influences mortgage rates, jumped nearly a tenth of a point to 4.57%, its highest level in a year. The two-year US Treasury yield rose to 4.07%, its highest level in over a year. The 30-year yield jumped to 5.11%.
Stocks have surged in recent weeks on enthusiasm about AI. But the bond market is showing signs of strain. Higher bond yields can pull investors away from stocks, posing a headwind for the rally.
Bond yields have climbed across the globe over nerves about higher oil prices, government spending and a shift in outlooks for central banks. The 30-year gilt yield in the United Kingdom hit its highest level since 1998.
“Rates have been on an upward trajectory overnight on inflation and deficit concerns,” Mohit Kumar, chief economist for Europe at Jefferies, said in a note.
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After two days of talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump refused to commit to an arms sale with Taiwan in a move that marks a win for China.
Aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters that he and Xi discussed Taiwan “in great detail” during their meetings but declined to answer directly about whether the US would defend Taiwan in the event of a conflict with China. Trump added that on the arms sale to Taiwan, “I’ll make a determination over the next early short period of time.”
But a pause, if we could read it that way, would be a win for China. While Trump could still change, of course, and commit to an arms deal, his comments that he’ll think about it leave an opening for the Chinese leader.
The president also echoed Xi’s lines on the issue, telling reporters that Xi argued during their talks that China had Taiwan for thousands of years and he “doesn’t want to see a movement for independence.”
Under the longstanding “One China” policy, the US acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China but has never officially recognized the Communist Party’s claim to the self-governing island.
Washington maintains robust unofficial relations with Taiwan and has sold billions of dollars in advanced weapons to the island, with bipartisan approval, but has remained intentionally ambiguous on whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.
Under the decades-old Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is also bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. But some US and Taiwanese officials have long feared that Trump may be inclined to use Taiwan as a bargaining chip with China.
CNN’s Kaanita Iyer, Jennifer Hansler, Zachary Cohen and Isabelle Khurshudyan contributed reporting.
Taiwan’s foreign minister has said the island closely followed the meetings between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, emphasizing that Taipei is “maintaining good communication” with the American side and will deepen its ties with the US.
“Just as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained, the long-standing US policy toward Taiwan, spanning multiple presidents and administrations, has not changed,” Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said in a statement on Friday. “The US government has also reiterated its opposition to any actions that coerce or force a change to the status quo, emphasizing that disrupting regional stability is highly detrimental to the US, China and the entire world.”
The foreign minister also reiterated the self-governing island’s position that China is “the primary source of threat causing widespread concern in the international community.”
“We will continue to deepen cooperation with the United States and like-minded nations in the Indo-Pacific, strengthen our self-defense capabilities, and jointly safeguard the peace, stability and prosperity of the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region,” Lin added.
Latest US comments: President Donald Trump said Friday that he made “no commitment either way” on Taiwan during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, after Beijing warned the issue could spark conflict between the two countries.
That stands in contrast to Rubio’s comments earlier this week, when he emphasized that the US policy towards Taiwan is “unchanged.” In an interview with NBC News posted Thursday morning, Rubio said: “From our perspective, any forced change in the status quo in the situation would be bad for both countries.”
President Donald Trump said Friday he has had communications with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and described the pair’s relationship as “very good.”
“You know, I have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, pretty quiet.” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his return flight from China.
Asked if he has had any communications with him, Trump answered: “Yes.”
“Doesn’t matter, I don’t tell you about that,” Trump said when pressed how many times the two have held talks.
“He’s been respectful of our country. I want him to be respectful. He’s been respectful of our country,” Trump added.
Trump told reporters he had discussed North Korea with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his trip to Beijing.
The president’s comments come months after the North Korean leader previously said the US war with Iran proves his country made the right decision to keep its nuclear weapons, accusing Washington of “acts of state sponsored terrorism and aggression” in a speech during which he did not mention Iran by name.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the first sentence of Iran’s latest proposal was “unacceptable,” claiming that Iran has backtracked on its stance regarding its nuclear program.
The first sentence was an “unacceptable sentence, because they have fully agreed no nuclear, and if they have any nuclear of any form, I don’t read the rest,” he said, adding that he is unsatisfied with the “level of guarantee from them.”
He said that Iran had agreed to give up its “nuclear dust” – referring to Tehran’s enriched uranium – but “then they took it back,” adding that they would agree to it eventually in his view.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that the topic of uranium enrichment “is currently not on the agenda of discussions or negotiations,” but will be addressed in later stages, according to the semi-official news agency Tasnim.
Iran denies it intends to build a nuclear weapon but has so far refused to relinquish its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Asked if Chinese President Xi Jinping made any commitments to put pressure on the Iranians to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said “we don’t need favors” but that “we may have to do a little cleanup work.”
“We had a little month-long ceasefire, I guess you’d call it, but we have a blockade that’s so effective, that’s why we did the ceasefire.”
It comes after Trump wrote yesterday (Friday morning Beijing time) that his military campaign against Iran is “to be continued!” — suggesting he is still strongly considering resuming attacks amid a fragile ceasefire.
Nebulous agreements on agricultural purchases. Tepid commitments on oil purchases. Some talk about opening up microchip sales to China. No firm deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said tariffs didn’t even come up.
Investors are decrying the lack of specifics from President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Trading on their disappointment, stock investors are ready to sell Friday morning. Dow futures were down more than 300 points, or 0.6%. The broader S&P 500 futures fell 1%, and Nasdaq futures were 1.4% lower.
With no firm resolution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Brent oil futures rose 3%, above $108 a barrel.
Soybean futures sold off sharply after the United States spoke of a vague commitment from China to buy from US farmers — a promise it has made in the past without following through.
And bond yields rose as traders grew cautious about rising inflation.
US President Donald Trump said he brought up the issue of political prisoners held in China, including imprisoned Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, during his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jingping.
“I think he’s giving very serious consideration to the pastor, the pastors,” Trump said, referring to leaders of underground Christian churches that China has detained amid a mass crackdown on Christian congregations.
For context: Lai was convicted in December 2025 on national security and sedition charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The 78-year-old self-made billionaire was among the highest-profile government critics charged since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong in 2020.
Both Beijing and Hong Kong’s government have repeatedly rejected international criticism of Lai’s prosecution and dismissed accusations that his jailing was politically motivated or an assault on press freedom.
President Donald Trump said Friday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Taiwan and US arms sales to the island “in great detail” during their meetings.
“We discussed the Taiwan, the whole thing with the arm sales, in great detail, actually, and I’ll be making decisions, but you know, I think the last thing we need right now is a war that’s 9,500 miles away,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he left China.
The president reiterated, saying “the last thing we need right now is a war,” an answer that comes as the ongoing war between the United States and Iran continues.
Asked whether the United States would defend Taiwan in the event of a conflict with China, Trump declined to answer directly, saying Xi had posed the same question to him earlier in the day.
“There’s only one person that knows that, you know who it is? Me, I’m the only person,” Trump said.
“That question was asked to me today by President Xi,” Trump added, explaining that Xi asked whether the United States would defend Taiwan. “I said I don’t talk about that.”
US President Donald Trump said he is weighing lifting sanctions on Chinese companies that have been buying Iranian oil, as the war and disruptions to oil markets drag on.
“I’m going to make a decision over the next few days. We did talk about that,” Trump told reporters on Friday as he flew back from his state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump added that he thinks Xi would like to see the strait opened up, noting that China gets a significant portion of its oil from the Gulf while claiming that the US “gets none. We don’t need it.”
For context: Iran is one of the world’s top oil producers, exporting an average of 1.69 million barrels per day in 2025, according to analytics company Kpler. Roughly 90% of its oil goes to China, according to the US government. China has not sanctioned Iranian crude and says it opposes sanctions on Iran’s oil, CNN previously reported.
Because of the widespread sanctions, Iran relies on an opaque fleet of aging tankers to move its crude around the world. China does not officially declare Iranian crude imports and often obscures the origin of the oil as Malaysian, according to Ying Cong Loh, a crude-oil market analyst at Kpler.
CNN’s Lex Harvey and Isaac Yee contributed to this report.
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Trump says he “didn’t dicuss” tariffs with Xi
0:22 • Source: CNN
Trump says he “didn’t dicuss” tariffs with Xi
0:22
President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping did not discuss tariffs during two days of talks.
“We didn’t discuss tariffs,” Trump said. “I mean they’re paying tariffs. They’re paying substantial tariffs but we didn’t discuss.”
“It wasn’t brought up,” he added.
US and Chinese trade envoys met in South Korea on Wednesday and held positive talks hours before Trump landed in Beijing, Xi said yesterday according to Chinese state media Xinhua.
After a previous meeting between the two leaders in October in South Korea, Trump cut the overall tariff rate on Chinese goods to 47%.
Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court nullified some of the tariffs Trump imposed last year.
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President Donald Trump said Friday that he made “no commitment either way” on Taiwan during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, after Beijing warned the issue could spark conflict between the two countries.
“On Taiwan, he feels very strongly. I made no commitment either way,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One returning back from China.
Asked whether Xi had suggested there was a risk of conflict with the United States over Taiwan, Trump downplayed the prospect.
“I don’t think there’s a conflict, other than we don’t need their srait,” Trump said.
Trump also signaled that a decision on future US arms sales to Taiwan had not yet been finalized. “I’ll make a determination,” Trump said when asked.
Trump’s comments came after China said in its official readout of the meeting that Xi warned the US president that mishandling the Taiwan issue could lead to confrontation between Washington and Beijing.
President Donald Trump used his trip to China to spotlight his long-discussed White House ballroom project, posting on social media Friday that the United States should have a grand venue comparable to the one he visited in Beijing following his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Scheduled opening will be around September of 2028,” Trump wrote.
The president’s post included a photo of himself walking alongside Xi outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, the sprawling government building used for major state ceremonies and high-level political meetings in China.
“The man I am walking with is President Xi, of China, one of the World’s Great Leaders!” Trump added in the post.
The president has repeatedly seized on high-profile moments, most recently the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, to promote his plans for a large-scale White House ballroom, despite legal battles over its authorization.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would welcome any diplomatic push by China to de-escalate the conflict with the United States.
“Any effort made by the Chinese to support diplomacy will be welcomed by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said at a press conference in New Delhi, during a visit to attend the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting there.
There have been questions of what, if any, behind-the-scenes support Beijing might be willing to extend to help bring an end to the months-long US-Israeli conflict with Iran, which has thrown the global economy into turmoil without a clear endgame.
China is a close diplomatic partner of Iran and the top purchaser of its oil – and has framed itself as proponent of peace throughout the war – which was a key topic of discussion between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump during the American leader’s visit to Beijing.
Araghchi said Pakistan’s mediation efforts had not failed but were “facing a very difficult path largely because of American behavior.”
President Donald Trump left Beijing without any immediate sign that the US and China have resolved thorny challenges dogging their fractious relationship, but with a freshly stabilized relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping – for now.
The leaders covered a range of issues from Iran and Taiwan to trade in two days of talks.
Here’s the bigger picture:
On Iran: Comments from both sides suggest the summit hasn’t moved the needle. A US-China energy deal may be in the works, one that sees Beijing – which imports large quantities of Iranian oil – purchase more US supplies. But whether the summit will have any bearing on the conflict remains unclear, as Beijing appeared to largely have reiterated its existing position.
On Taiwan: Xi delivered an explicit warning on Taiwan – an issue Xi called the “most important” in US-China relations. Despite concern Xi would try to maneuver Trump to shift US positioning on Taiwan – or Trump would use the island as a bargaining chip – Rubio said America’s position on the issue is “unchanged.”
On trade: Trump is returning to the White House with some economic wins that have, so far, proven short on substance in the absence of any formal announcements or confirmation from China.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is hoping to discuss US President Donald Trump’s visit to China directly with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his next visit to Beijing, the Kremlin said on Friday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin’s upcoming visit to China – the timing of which has not yet been announced – will be “a good opportunity to exchange opinions on the contacts that have taken place between the Chinese and the Americans.”
Delivering a slight dig at the US, when referring to the US and China as the world’s two biggest economies, Peskov said: “You know that in terms of purchasing power parity, China is the first economy, the United States is the second economy in absolute terms.”
Some context: China is by far Russia’s most important ally. Chinese-made electronic components are vital for the Russian defense industry. And as the biggest buyer of its oil, China provides a key source of revenue for the Kremlin at a time when the Russian economy is under strain because of the country’s war on Ukraine.
Global crude benchmarks jumped after President Donald Trump said China agreed to purchase US oil amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. China has yet to confirm the deal, as tanker traffic and maritime risks continue to weigh on supply. CNN’s Kristie Lu Stout reports.
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Oil prices surged as Trump says China will buy US crude after Xi talks
3:37 • Source: CNN
Oil prices surged as Trump says China will buy US crude after Xi talks
3:37
The Trump-Xi meeting resulted in minor trade deals and discussions, allowing both sides to claim some progress in the contentious economic rivalry. But several sensitive topics were largely absent, including international sanctions, tech export controls and Chinese electric vehicles.
Major breakthroughs on these sticking points were always unlikely. But the lack of public dialogue indicates that some of the most controversial trade frictions between and Washington and Beijing still remain.
So far, neither the US nor China has shown a willingness to roll back punitive measures targeting businesses in the other country.
Of course, the US-Israeli war with Iran loomed large. Less than a week before Trump arrived in Beijing, the US imposed sanctions on three Chinese satellite firms that it said were helping Iran’s military. And earlier this month, China ordered several firms not to comply with US sanctions on oil refineries accused of enabling the trade of Iranian oil.
There also seemed to be little change on policies meant to restrict access to critical minerals and electronic components, which have threatened to slow tech development in both the US and China.
So too on the question of Chinese EVs accessing the US market. At the beginning of the year, Trump said he was open to allowing Chinese cars into the country, and Chinese EV makers have been eager to expand overseas with cheap and cutting-edge new models. However, US lawmakers have been vehemently against the idea, saying it could decimate the domestic auto industry and undermine national security.
Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing — the first by a US leader since 2017 — ended on a high note, with the president praising China and its leader Xi Jinping in his last public remarks before heading home.
No new deals have been announced yet from the summit, though Trump said the two countries “settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to settle.”
Here’s an overview of Trump’s time in Beijing:
- Trump touched down late evening local time in Beijing, where he was greeted by hundreds of enthusiastic flag-waving children and welcomed by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, widely seen as Xi’s envoy for diplomatic events.
- Trump and Xi met in front of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The two shook hands and posed for photos on a red carpet alongside the US and Chinese delegations. There was a greeting ceremony with marching soldiers, music, and more cheering children.
- Right off the bat, Xi and Trump seemed familiar, relaxed and friendly, in stark contrast to the hostility that has defined the US-China relationship in recent years.
- In opening remarks, Xi described the turbulent global situation, saying the world had “arrived at a new crossroads” and emphasizing the importance of China-US cooperation. Trump hailed their “fantastic relationship” and said he had “such respect” for Xi and China.
- Trump and Xi held a bilateral meeting in the Great Hall of the People with members of their team. Notably, there was not a single woman at the table on either side.
- Xi said “the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations” and warned it could be “very dangerous” if it is not “handled properly,” according to state media. Taiwan hit back and said China is the “sole source” of insecurity in the region.
- Xi also welcomed more than a dozen US business leaders who accompanied Trump to Beijing, including Tesla’s Elon Musk, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Apple’s Tim Cook.
- Xi said he and Trump agreed to establish “constructive strategic stable relations” over the next three years and beyond, according to a readout of their from China’s Foreign Ministry.
- Trump and Xi then visited the Temple of Heaven, a UNESCO Heritage Site long associated with Henry Kissinger’s many visits to China. The former Secretary of State was regarded by Beijing as “an old friend of the Chinese people.”
- Trump and Xi later dined on Beijing roast duck, lobster and pan-fried pork buns at a state banquet. Xi said China’s “great rejuvenation” and MAGA can go hand in hand. Both leaders stressed their countries globally consequential relationship, with Xi saying they must “never mess it up.”
- Trump invited Xi and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan to the White House in September.
- Trump lavished more praise on Xi in an interview with Fox News and said the Chinese leader agreed not to provide military equipment to Iran. He also said China agreed to order 200 Boeing jets.
President Donald Trump brought 17 American corporate leaders with him to Beijing this week, and said he had made many business deals, including commitments from China to purchase 200 Boeing aircrafts and more US oil.
But the last time Trump visited in 2017, he brought nearly 30 executives, and the US had announced deals totaling more than $250 billion by the time he left. China agreed to buy 300 Boeing airplanes that time.
The distinct outcomes signify the deterioration in the economic relationship between the US and China over the past decade. After two trade wars launched by Trump, China’s economy has become less reliant on the US, giving it an upper hand in this week’s negotiations.
Operating a foreign business in China has also become significantly more difficult. China has developed domestic competitors that can match or even outperform foreign brands, including some of the companies whose leaders attended the meeting this year, like Apple or Tesla.
Meanwhile, geopolitical frictions have weighed on bilateral investment and trade deals, particularly in sensitive sectors like technology.
During Trump’s trip in November 2017, the Commerce Department announced 37 deals between US and Chinese companies, though not all of them materialized. Leaders from Boeing, GE, Goldman Sachs and Qualcomm were also in attendance then, along with executives from Dow Chemical, Honeywell and Caterpillar among others.
Kent Kedl, founder of risk and strategy advisory firm Blue Ocean Advisors in Shanghai, said the 2017 cohort was more focused on securing specific export agreements, whereas this year the group seemed to prioritize access to the China market and Trump himself.
Following a busy day as part of US President Donald Trump’s accompanying delegation to Beijing, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang spent some time exploring one of the city’s famous tourist hutongs — narrow alleyways lined by traditional courtyard houses.
On Friday morning, people posted videos on social media of him slurping fried sauce noodles, a signature dish of Beijing, and snacking on ice cream and grilled squid along Beijing’s bustling South Luogu Lane.
People approached the leather jacket-clad billionaire for selfies. He also chatted with a few people as he snacked on the tasty street food.
Huang was among more than a dozen business leaders on the trip as part of Trump’s entourage.
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