President Xi Emphasises that the US Must Act with Caution on Taiwan
Beijing (ANTARA) - Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on the United States to exercise caution in its stance on the Taiwan issue.
“The Taiwan issue is the most important matter in China-US relations. The US must be more prudent in handling the Taiwan issue,” said President Xi during a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, as quoted from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on Thursday (14/5).
If handled correctly, Xi stated that bilateral relations would enjoy overall stability.
“If not, the two countries will experience friction and even conflict, which will endanger the entire relationship. ‘Taiwan independence’ and peace across the Taiwan Strait are utterly irreconcilable, like fire and water,” President Xi emphasised.
Maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Xi noted, is the greatest common interest between China and the US.
During the meeting, President Trump said he felt greatly honoured to be making a state visit to China.
“The United States and China have a very good relationship. President Xi and I have the longest and best relationship ever held by presidents of the two countries. We enjoy close communication and have resolved many important issues,” said Trump.
According to Trump, President Xi is a great leader, and China is a great country.
“I have great respect for President Xi and the Chinese people. Today’s meeting is the greatest summit the world has ever seen. I will work with President Xi to strengthen communication and cooperation, properly manage differences, make bilateral relations better than ever before, and usher in a fantastic future,” Trump added.
Trump described the US and China as the most important and strongest countries in the world.
“Together, we can do many great and good things for both countries and the world. I have brought the best representatives from American businesses. They all respect and appreciate China, and I strongly encourage them to expand their cooperation with China,” Trump stated.
The two presidents also exchanged views on major international and regional issues, such as the situation in the Middle East, the Ukraine crisis, and the Korean Peninsula.
They agreed to support each other in hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the G20 Summit this year.
During the meeting, President Trump asked each business leader accompanying the trip to introduce themselves to President Xi and share their views.
Trump brought more than a dozen CEOs of major US companies, including Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla and SpaceX), Ryan McInerney (CEO of Visa), Jensen Huang (CEO of NVIDIA), Tim Cook (CEO of Apple), Larry Fink (CEO and co-founder of BlackRock), Stephen Schwarzman (CEO and co-founder of Blackstone), Kelly Ortberg (CEO of Boeing), Brian Sikes (CEO of Cargill), Jane Fraser (CEO of Citigroup), and Jim Anderson (CEO of Coherent).
Also present were Larry Culp (CEO of GE Aerospace), David Solomon (CEO of Goldman Sachs), Jacob Thaysen (CEO of Illumina), Michael Miebach (CEO of Mastercard), Dina Powell McCormick (President and Vice Chair of Meta), Sanjay Mehrotra (CEO of Micron), and Cristiano Amon (CEO of Qualcomm).
Attending as well were US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and other related officials.
President Xi was accompanied by Cai Qi, Secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Vice Premier He Lifeng, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Zheng Shanjie, and other related officials.
The meeting lasted approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Xi and Trump then visited the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, built in 1420.
At the site, reporters attempted to ask Trump whether he had discussed Taiwan during the meeting, but Trump did not respond.
“China is beautiful,” Trump said briefly.