'Partners, not rivals': Xi told Trump of risk of 'clashes' over Taiwan

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping began their talks in Beijing with emphasized friendly statements on economic cooperation. However, the outward optimism hid Beijing's harsh warnings on the Taiwan issue, which caused the Chinese stock market to decline.

The meeting of the leaders of the world's two largest economies at Beijing's House of People's Congress kicked off with an exchange of pleasantries designed to set a positive tone for the entire two-day summit, The Wall Street Journal reported. Xi Jinping expressed hope that the world's largest economies can be "partners, not rivals." In response, Donald Trump called the meeting "the biggest summit in history" and promised that relations between the two nations would be "better than ever before."

Despite the warm welcome, the main topic of the two-hour talks was Taiwan, and Beijing's tone was unusually harsh, Bloomberg said. Chinese state media were proactive and published Xi's statements on Taiwan even before the meeting was over, a clear sign that Beijing seeks to set its own media agenda, the agency said.

According to these publications, Xi Jinping directly warned Trump that Taiwan is the "most important" issue in US-China relations, and a wrong approach to it could lead to clashes and create an extremely dangerous situation, Reuters reports. Taipei responded that it is the PRC military threat that is the "only source of instability" in the region, Bloomberg reports.

Beijing is pushing for a change in Washington's official rhetoric, with Xi Jinping wanting Trump to say America "opposes" the island's independence instead of saying the US "does not support" it, The Wall Street Journal points out.

Local investors reacted to the news from Beijing with caution. Due to unexpectedly harsh statements on Taiwan, mainland China's blue chip index CSI 300 ended trading down 1.7%. The U.S. technology sector, on the contrary, received positive momentum: futures on the Nasdaq index rose slightly after reports that the U.S. will allow ten Chinese companies, including Alibaba and Tencent, to buy advanced chips Nvidia H200, reports Bloomberg. On the stock exchange in Hong Kong, this news triggered a rise in shares of Chinese AI startup MiniMax - by more than 4%. At the same time, the securities of its competitor Zhipu went into a deep minus after a strong jump the day before, the agency notes.

The American president arrived in Beijing accompanied by an impressive delegation of CEOs from major tech companies, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia founder Jensen Huang and Apple's Tim Cook. In his Truth Social, Trump explained that his "very first request" to the Chinese leader would be to "open up" China "so these brilliant people can work their magic and help take the People's Republic of China to an even higher level!"

Xi Jinping, for his part, reiterated his willingness to expand business ties at a meeting with representatives of American businesses. "China welcomes the United States' strengthening of mutually beneficial cooperation with China, and we believe that American enterprises will enjoy even broader prospects in the Chinese market," the Chinese President said (quoted by Bloomberg with reference to China Central Television (CCTV)).

After concluding official talks and a tour of Beijing's Temple of Heaven, the U.S. president returned to his hotel where he will spend time until the evening. The next event of the summit today will be a gala dinner with the participation of officials and business representatives. Friday's summit program promises to be more chamber-like: a tea ceremony and a working lunch are planned, after which the U.S. delegation will head back to Washington, WSJ reports.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor