US President Donald Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday for a second day of talks, concluding his state visit to China that has so far resulted in a Chinese offer to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but also a warning from Beijing that mishandling Taiwan could spark conflict.
On Friday, Trump visited the Zhongnanhai leadership compound next to Beijing’s Forbidden City, where he will have tea and lunch with Xi before travelling back to Washington.
“Hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that Xi had congratulated him “on so many tremendous successes in such a short period of time”.
The talks have yet to deliver any major economic breakthroughs, with Trump primarily focused on securing deals in the agriculture, aviation and artificial intelligence sectors.
The summit, so far, has mainly been aimed at stabilising the relationship between the US and China and maintaining a fragile truce agreed on at the end of last year.
In October, Washington agreed to lower tariffs on all Chinese goods, while Beijing agreed to pause its restrictions on rare earths exports.
Besides from trade, the two leaders did seem to make some progress on the topic of the Iran war.
Xi told Trump that Beijing wants to help negotiate an end to the war and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. China’s heavy reliance on Iranian oil could help it influence Tehran into making a deal with Washington.
According to the White House, “the two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to suppor the free flow of energy”.
Trump added that China reassured it would not provide Iran with military equipment.
Meanwhile, Taiwan has emerged as one of the most divisive topics on the agenda, with Xi warning the US that disagreements over the self-governed island—which China claims as its own—could lead to clashes or conflict.
In December, Washington approved an $11 billion arms package to Taiwan, which it has not yet moved forward with delivering.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned it would be a “terrible mistake” for China to take Taiwan by force.
Turmoil in Strait of Hormuz
While Trump wraps up his two-day state visit in China, tensions remain high in the Strait of Hormuz.
A ship anchored of United Arab Emirates was seized and taken towards Iranian waters, while an Indian-flagged cargo ship sank near the coast of Oman after it was attacked, authorities reported on Thursday.
It remains unclear who is behind both incidents, but Iran did previously warn that it would seize “violating” oil tankers connected to the US.
Meanwhile, Chinese vessels began passing through the strait following an understanding over Iranian management protocols for the passage, Iranian state-run media reported.
Iran has largely blocked shipping through the strait, which usually carries around a fifth of the world’s oil and LNG, since the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel on 28 February.
Washington has imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian ports despite a fragile ceasefire in place since 8 April.