Donald Trump left Beijing on Friday at the close of a two-day summit with Xi Jinping, the first sit-down between American and Chinese presidents in nearly a decade, with both sides trading praise and claiming progress in stabilising what they agreed is the world’s most consequential relationship. No formal agreements on trade, Taiwan, the war in Iran or any of the other principal points of contention were announced before Air Force One departed.
Trump told reporters the trip had produced "fantastic trade deals" and said in a Fox News interview that China had agreed to order 200 Boeing aircraft, which would be Beijing’s first purchase of US-made commercial jets in close to a decade. The White House did not release terms, and Boeing made no immediate confirmation of an order on that scale.
Xi described the meetings as "historic" and a "landmark," telling state media the two leaders had "reached important common understandings on maintaining stable economic and trade ties, expanding practical cooperation in various fields, and properly addressing each other’s concerns." Chinese officials cast the summit as confirmation that Beijing now deals with Washington on an equal footing.
Taiwan loomed over the talks. Xi had warned Trump on the first day that mishandling Beijing’s claims on the island could cause "clashes and even conflicts." Trump said afterwards that he had not yet decided whether a major US arms sale to Taipei would proceed, while reaffirming Washington’s longstanding "one China" framework.
On Iran, Trump said Xi had told him China would not supply military equipment to Tehran, calling that a "big statement." He added that he was considering lifting US sanctions on Chinese companies that buy Iranian oil, a step that would ease pressure on Beijing as the conflict and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz drag on.
The two governments reaffirmed a framework Beijing calls a "constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability" and agreed to stand up new bilateral boards for economic and artificial-intelligence oversight, structures intended to keep technology disputes from escalating to leader level.
Analysts were divided on the outcome. Several noted that China had secured its central objective — a summit conducted as a meeting of equals — while Trump returned home with few concrete deliverables and little visible help on Iran. Both sides framed the "strategic stability" language as a guardrail against crisis rather than the start of a broader thaw.