Xi Jinping Warns Trump in China, What's Going On?
Chinese President Xi Jinping has suddenly warned US President Donald Trump. Quoted from AFP on Friday (15/5/2026), Xi warned Trump not to interfere in Taiwan matters, stating that a wrong move could push the two countries into “conflict”.
“Taiwan is the most important issue in China-US relations,” said Xi, according to a statement published by Chinese state media shortly after the leaders’ meeting on Thursday in Beijing, which lasted two hours and 15 minutes.
“If handled incorrectly, the two countries could clash or even conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a very dangerous situation,” Xi added.
Trump actually arrived in China with praise for his host. Trump called Xi a “great leader” and “friend” while extending an invitation to visit the White House in September.
However, Xi himself stressed to Trump that the two countries “must be partners and not rivals”. He also immediately highlighted the Taiwan issue, which Beijing claims as its territory.
“Can China and the United States overcome what is called the ‘Thucydides Trap’ and form a new paradigm for great power relations?” Xi asked, referring to the theory proposed by Harvard scholar Graham Allison, which describes the tendency towards war when a rising power is seen as threatening to displace an established one and calls for a “new paradigm for relations between major countries”.
“Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand… and advance the well-being of the entire world,” said Xi, referring to Trump’s MAGA movement.
Meanwhile, Adam Ni, editor of the China Neican bulletin, described Xi Jinping’s “blunt language” as “unusual coming from the leader himself”. Analyst Chong Ja Ian from the National University of Singapore said China is “signalling a desire to compromise with the US on Taiwan” while “showing that they see some opportunities to persuade Trump”.
Trump himself did not comment to reporters on Taiwan on Thursday. However, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC International that the President would say more “in the coming days”.
It should be noted that Trump’s visit to Beijing is the first by a US President in nearly a decade, with a grand welcome. Xi Jinping welcomed Trump with a red carpet at the luxurious Great Hall of the People, accompanied by military music, a 21-gun salute, and a group of schoolchildren jumping and shouting “welcome!”.
Meanwhile, Taiwan responded with cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee claiming that “China’s military threats are the sole source of insecurity in the Taiwan Strait and the broader Indo-Pacific region”. The US actually recognises the One China policy, but has maintained strong ties with the Taiwanese government, having approved arms sales worth tens of billions of dollars over decades, including US$11 billion in December.