US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping sat down for formal bilateral talks in Beijing on Thursday, the most consequential diplomatic encounter of the year. Following their discussions, the two leaders visited the Temple of Heaven — a 600-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site — in a piece of deliberate cultural diplomacy.
Xi opened the summit with a notably conciliatory tone, declaring that the United States and China “should be partners, not rivals.” He said he was “very happy” to welcome Trump to the Chinese capital. Xinhua news agency reported that Xi separately told Trump that Taiwan is “the most important issue” in China-US relations — a clear signal that Beijing regards any shift in American policy on the island as a fundamental red line.
Trump, who arrived in Beijing on Wednesday evening after completing earlier regional stops, has said he hopes to secure large business deals and is banking on Beijing’s economic leverage over Tehran to push progress on the Iran war. Before leaving for China, Trump said he expected Xi to “help” on Iran without being explicit about the ask.
Ada Derana reported that Xi separately warned Trump that mishandling of Taiwan could send US-China relations down “a dangerous path and even lead to conflict” — a stark but not unprecedented warning that contrasted with otherwise relaxed proceedings. Trump described the meeting as “possibly the biggest summit ever” and praised Xi as a “great leader.”
In a key joint outcome, the White House said on Thursday afternoon that Trump and Xi had agreed the Strait of Hormuz must stay open for the free flow of energy, and that both sides agreed Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. The two leaders also discussed building on progress in ending the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States and increasing Chinese purchases of US agricultural products, the White House readout said. The summary described the meeting as “good” but did not mention Taiwan.
The summit marks the first US presidential visit to China since Trump’s own first term in 2017 and follows years of deteriorating ties over trade, technology and Taiwan. For Sri Lanka, the explicit Hormuz commitment is a direct positive signal for fuel import costs — Colombo has carried a sustained Hormuz risk premium since the war began — while Beijing remains a critical bilateral partner in infrastructure, energy and debt restructuring.
