President Donald Trump has left Beijing after days of grand diplomatic shows and lavish ceremonies — however there have been no obvious breakthroughs on the thorniest points within the U.S.-China relationship.
On the ultimate day of the summit, Chinese language President Xi Jinping hosted Trump on the Communist Get together’s secretive management compound, the place Trump praised Xi.
President Donald Trump speaks with Chinese language President Xi Jinping whereas leaving after a go to to the Zhongnanhai Backyard in Beijing, Might 15, 2026.
Evan Vucci/Pool through AP
Listed below are some key takeaways from the second day of the summit.
Iran Warfare
On Iran, Trump got here hoping to persuade Xi to make use of his leverage to get Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump stated Xi vowed to not provide Iran with army tools and supplied to assist resolve the battle — however China’s official readout made no point out, and the Chinese language Overseas Ministry sidestepped questions on whether or not Iran was even mentioned.
Trump stated Friday that he and Xi really feel “very related on Iran” in wanting the battle to finish and prohibiting Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Leaving on Air Power One, Trump once more burdened he and Xi had been on the identical web page. However when pressed on whether or not Xi really dedicated to pressuring Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump stated he doesn’t “want favors,” suggesting little was resolved.
Taiwan
On Taiwan, Xi used the summit to ship a stark warning — that if the difficulty is not dealt with correctly, the U.S. and China will face “clashes and even conflicts.”
Trump advised reporters aboard Air Power One which he made “no dedication both method” on Taiwan, and {that a} choice on future U.S. arms gross sales had not but been finalized.
Forward of this assembly, there have been considerations in Washington that Beijing would press Trump to scale back U.S. arms assist to the island.
Trump has already been delaying the most recent spherical of arms gross sales, for months refusing to log off on the document $14 billion package deal that was permitted in January 2025, regardless of urging from some lawmakers.
“I will make a dedication over the subsequent pretty brief interval,” Trump stated when requested concerning the arms gross sales by reporters aboard Air Power One.
Commerce offers
On the economic system — the place essentially the most progress was anticipated — Trump stated Xi agreed to order 200 Boeing jets.
“We had a fantastic keep. It was an incredible time frame. President Xi’s an unimaginable man. We bought alongside, made a whole lot of nice commerce offers,” Trump stated on Air Power One, “together with over 200 planes for Boeing, with a promise of 750 planes, which might be by far the most important order ever.”
The U.S. commerce consultant stated China is predicted to purchase tens of billions of {dollars} value of agricultural merchandise within the subsequent few years.
However none of these particular offers have been confirmed by Beijing or Boeing.
Trump additionally stated that he and Xi didn’t focus on tariffs, merely telling reporters that it “wasn’t introduced up,” regardless of lingering questions on whether or not the detente of their commerce battle might be prolonged.
Backside line
After days of pomp and punctiliously choreographed diplomacy, it seems there had been no main breakthroughs on the trickiest points.
However, the truth that these two leaders met in any respect alerts there’s hope for stability.
