US President Donald Trump has described his two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing as a “historic moment,” claiming the two global powers achieved major progress on trade agreements, Taiwan tensions, artificial intelligence cooperation and international security issues.
Speaking aboard Air Force One while returning to Washington, Trump repeatedly praised Xi and said the visit marked a major diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and China amid years of tensions over trade, technology and military influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
“That was a great success. It was fantastic. We made great deals, we have a great relationship,” Trump said while discussing the outcome of the summit.
According to Trump, Taiwan emerged as one of the most sensitive issues during discussions with Xi, who strongly opposed any attempt toward formal Taiwanese independence. Trump revealed that the Chinese leader also raised concerns regarding future US military support and weapons sales to Taiwan.
“President Xi and I talked a lot about Taiwan. On Taiwan, he does not want to see a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation,” Trump stated.
The US President declined to publicly clarify whether Washington would militarily defend Taiwan in the event of a conflict, saying decisions regarding future arms support would be taken “over the next fairly short period of time.”
Trump also disclosed that both countries held extensive talks on artificial intelligence, particularly regarding security risks linked to advanced technologies. According to him, discussions focused on establishing safeguards around AI systems to prevent threats involving cyber warfare, biological weapons and military misuse.
“AI is fantastic. So many things can happen in terms of health and medicine and operations, everything, the military,” Trump remarked.
On the economic front, Trump announced what he described as a major aviation agreement involving Boeing aircraft sales to China. He claimed the deal initially involves more than 200 aircraft, with the possibility of expanding significantly in the future.
The summit also reportedly included discussions on nuclear arms reduction involving China, Russia and the United States. Trump described denuclearisation as an important long-term objective for global stability.
In one of the most candid moments during the interaction, Trump acknowledged intelligence operations conducted by both nations while responding to questions about alleged Chinese espionage activities inside the United States.
“We spy like hell on them, too,” he said.
Trump further revealed that Xi agreed Iran should not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, indicating that despite deep strategic rivalry, Washington and Beijing may continue cooperating on certain international security issues.
The Beijing summit is being viewed as one of the most closely watched diplomatic engagements between the world’s two largest economies as geopolitical tensions continue to rise globally.
