It was the most closely watched bilateral meeting in years. US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on May 14 for a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The visit opened with full ceremony at the Great Hall of the People: a red carpet flanked by officers in dress uniform, rows of schoolchildren carrying flags of both countries, and a Chinese army orchestra.
Trump greeted the children with both thumbs raised.
Xi waved his hand.
Dear readers and subscribers,
In his opening remarks, Trump called Xi a “great leader” and described their meeting as possibly “the most important meeting in history,” adding: “In America, people talk about nothing else.” Well, I’m not physically in America; nevertheless, it is a constant hot topic in all social networks and alternative media.
So, here’s the full two-day mini-summit IS IT PROPAGANDA?® style.
Xi’s prepared statement struck a different register. He framed the central question before both countries as whether they could cooperate to meet global challenges and avoid the “Thucydides “trap”: the theory that conflict between a rising and an established power is structurally inevitable.
Behind closed doors, Xi made China’s core position explicit.
“The Taiwan issue is the most important problem in relations between China and the United States. In the event of an improper settlement, the two countries may face or even enter into conflict, which will put the whole complex of Sino-American relations in an extremely dangerous situation,” Xi was quoted by CCTV.
What Trump replied to was not disclosed.
When reporters asked him twice on camera on the way out of the Temple of Heaven, where both leaders traveled after talks, whether he had discussed Taiwan with Xi, Trump stood in silence and walked away.
The White House issued no statement.
Xinhua reported that Xi told Trump the previous day’s economic negotiations had produced a “generally balanced and positive result” and assured American business representatives that China “will open up to the world even wider.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that both leaders agreed to build “constructive, strategic, and stable relations” as a framework for the next three years and beyond.
The White House statement, released ahead of a state dinner, described the meeting as “successful” and reported agreement on expanding American business access to the Chinese market, increasing Chinese investment in the US economy, keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, suppressing the flow of fentanyl precursors, and increasing Chinese purchases of American agricultural products.
Taiwan was not mentioned.
On Iran, Trump revealed that Tehran had proposed a 20-year moratorium on its nuclear program, which he found insufficient. “Twenty years is enough, but the level of guarantee from them is not enough,” he said. “It’s got to be a real 20 years.”
He added that he reviewed Tehran’s latest written proposal and discarded it: “If they have any nuclear material of any form, I don’t read the rest of it.”
Iran is believed to retain approximately 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium in underground facilities, material that Trump has said must be removed from the country. Trump also said he discussed the possible lifting of sanctions on Chinese firms purchasing Iranian oil, describing it as a decision still to come.
The walled government residence near the Forbidden City, where Xi rarely hosts foreign leaders. Before formal talks, both leaders walked through the garden.
Trump admired the roses.
Xi promised to send him seeds.
Trump announced that Xi has accepted an invitation to visit the United States, with a meeting set for September 24.
The one concrete figure to emerge from the two days was Boeing: Trump announced China had agreed to purchase 200 commercial aircraft. Before the visit, Boeing had anticipated an order for 500 airliners.
When the 200-plane fiasco became public, Boeing shares fell more than 4%.
US Trade Representative Jamison Greer, speaking to Bloomberg TV, yesterday May 15th, confirmed that no decision had been made on extending the trade truce, under which the US holds tariffs on Chinese exports and China refrains from restricting rare earth supplies, beyond its expiration at the end of October.
Greer acknowledged that Beijing continues to delay issuing some rare earth export licenses, requiring US officials to intervene on behalf of affected companies. On semiconductors, he acknowledged no breakthrough on Nvidia H200 chip supplies to Chinese firms, despite the last-minute addition of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to the American delegation. [NOTE: For more details on China and semiconductors, read our SPINTCOM report below— JBM].
Shortly before the final session, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued an unexpected statement on Iran: “This conflict, which should never have happened, has no basis for continuation,” adding that China supports efforts toward a peace agreement.
Xi said nothing publicly on Iran during the summit itself.
The final Chinese statement, released as Trump boarded Air Force One, called the visit “historic and significant” and said both sides had fulfilled “important agreements.”
Neither government specified what those agreements are.
At a post-departure briefing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said only that both sides had reached an “important consensus.”
Aboard Air Force One after the summit, Trump disclosed additional details.
He said he is still deliberating a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan and needs to speak to “the person who’s running Taiwan” before deciding.
He openly questioned whether the 1982 Reagan commitment, under which Washington pledged not to consult Beijing on arms sales to the island, still applies. “He brought that up,” Trump said of Xi. “He talked about that to me, obviously. So, what am I going to do, say, ‘I don’t want to talk to you about it because I have an agreement that was signed in 1982’”?
Both governments left Beijing with their narratives intact and their core disputes unresolved.
The summit kept the dialogue alive and left almost everything else for another day.
IS IT PROPAGANDA?® covers the stories where the gap between the statement and the reality is the story. If that kind of analysis matters to you, my name is Jerry B. Marchant, consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a one-time donation. It keeps this work alive.
