Trump leaves China with signs of stabilized relationship, but without any major deals

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - BEIJING —US President Donald Trump left Beijing Friday afternoon after a two-day summit without any immediate sign that the US and China have resolved thorny challenges dogging their fractious relationship.

Trade was near the top of the agenda despite recent tensions over the Iran war, and businesses hoped for key deals as well as an extension of the tariff truce that is due to expire in November.

The US president arrived for a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday, accompanied by a high-profile business delegation spanning agriculture, aviation, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

The visit was defined by warm rhetoric and symbolism. Trump was wooed with a packed itinerary that included an honor guard, a state banquet, and an invitation to the exclusive compound where China's Communist Party leaders live and work.

The US President seemed impressed and invited Xi to the White House in September. He said talks had been "very successful", while Xi called it a "historic and landmark" visit.

But neither side has announced trade breakthroughs or significant business deals.

Trump said he had struck "fantastic trade deals, great for both countries", but few details have emerged on what the two superpowers agreed.

The leaders covered a range of issues from Iran and Taiwan to trade, during two days that included intensive bilateral meetings. But there were also grand displays of soft diplomacy, marking the first Beijing meeting for the longtime rivals in nearly a decade.

“We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to settle, and the relationship is a very strong one,” Trump said at the start of bilateral discussions Friday, offering no concrete details on the problems in question.

The US-Israeli war with Iran loomed over the whirlwind summit. There were questions of what, if any, behind-the-scenes support Xi might be willing to extend to help bring an end to the months-long conflict, which has thrown the global economy into turmoil without a clear endgame.

Details of the sweeping trade deals Trump promised ahead of the trip remain unclear, with big pronouncements from the president and some top officials, but any substantive announcements still absent and unconfirmed by China.

And amid concerns from experts and analysts that Xi was walking into the meeting with the upper hand, the Chinese leader offered his own flex on the issue of Taiwan.

But the visit also provided an opportunity to reset the tone of the fractious US-China relationship, Xi rolling out a literal and figurative red carpet that charmed and delighted his guest, a warm connection on display.

“I think it will go down as a very important moment in history. And maybe more than anything else, a great moment of respect,” Trump reflected during an interview with Fox News.

Ahead of talks, expectations were high that the American president could push his Chinese counterpart to help resolve the Iran conflict.

China is a close diplomatic partner of Iran and the top purchaser of its oil – and has framed itself as proponent of peace throughout the war. The topic was part of the more than two hours of discussions between the two leaders Thursday, but Trump departed without a clear sign from Beijing that it’s willing to press Tehran to work with US demands.

Instead, comments from both sides so far suggest the summit hasn’t moved the needle.

Trump told Fox News that Xi offered to help resolve the conflict and pledged not to provide Iran with military equipment. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a separate interview with NBC News Thursday, said the US did not ask for China’s help resolving the conflict.

A readout released by the White House also said the two countries agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.

It also said Xi “made clear China’s opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use,” and suggested China would buy more oil from the US.

A US-China energy deal may be in the works, one that sees Beijing – which imports large quantities of Iranian oil – purchase more US supplies. But whether the Trump-Xi talks will have any bearing on the conflict remains unclear, as Beijing appeared to largely have reiterated its existing position.

China has already repeatedly pledged to do what it can to facilitate peace negotiations.

Beijing supports Iran’s stated commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, though it backs the country’s right to a peaceful nuclear program.

China also leaned into its own framing of the war in a statement released by its Foreign Ministry Friday morning, saying that it “should have never happened.” It also implied consistency in its message, adding China’s position was “very clear.”

For his part, Xi used the opportunity of having Trump in his home court to give an explicit warning on Taiwan – an issue Xi called the “most important” in US-China relations.

“If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability,” Xi said during his Thursday-morning meeting with Trump, according to a Chinese readout. “Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy.”

The language – which appears as unusually direct, though in step with Beijing’s expected rhetoric – stands out in tone from China’s otherwise upbeat assessment of the new era of “strategic stability” between the two countries touted by Xi.

China’s ruling Communist Party claims the self-ruling democracy as its own territory and has vowed to “reunify” with the island, by force if necessary. It has long decried the US’ robust unofficial relationship with Taipei and its arms sales to the island.

Trump is returning to the White House with some economic wins that have, so far, proven short on substance in the absence of any formal announcements or confirmation from China.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the administration expects China to agree to buy “double-digit billion” worth of agricultural products from the US every year over the next three years, as a result of Trump’s trip.

Greer told Bloomberg News that China had also “reupped” the license for American beef exports. Over the past year, export permission for more than 400 US beef plants expired. Greer did not specify the number of licenses renewed.

Trump also announced that his Chinese counterpart agreed to purchase 200 Boeing jets. Boeing’s CEO was part of the US delegation to China.

China has yet to confirm specific deals mentioned by the Trump team. In a readout, Beijing called for the two countries to “expand exchanges and cooperation” in areas including the economy and trade, health, agriculture and tourism.

On Thursday, Trump was treated to a more elaborate welcome ceremony outside China’s Great Hall of the People, including military bands, a troop inspection, and a throng of schoolchildren waving flags and flowers. The US president appeared visibly delighted.

Ahead of a bilateral meeting at the Zhongnanhai complex on Friday, Xi guided his guest on a tour of his gardens and offered sweeping historical references conveying subtle meaning.

Few world leaders get to see the inside of the Chinese Communist Party’s secretive leadership compound, which used to be the imperial gardens. Xi made sure to note that he had invited Trump there as a way to reciprocate his own visit to Mar-a-Lago.