BEIJING, May 15:US President Donald Trump left China on Friday with no major breakthroughs on trade or tangible help from Beijing to end the Iran war, despite two days spent heaping praise on his host, Xi Jinping.
Trump's visit to America's main strategic and economic rival, the first by a US president since his last trip in 2017, had aimed for tangible results to beef up his sagging approval ratings before midterm elections.
The summit was filled with pageantry, from goose-stepping soldiers to tours of a secret garden, but behind closed doors Xi issued a stark warning to Trump that any mishandling of China's top concern, Taiwan, could spiral into conflict.
During a huddle with reporters on the way back to the US, Trump said Xi told him he opposed Taiwan's independence.
"I heard him out. I didn't make a comment...I made no commitment either way," said Trump. He added that he will decide on a pending arms sale to Taiwan shortly, after speaking to "the person that right now is...running Taiwan."
These were the first freewheeling remarks after two days in Beijing during which Trump stayed unusually restrained, with his off-the-cuff comments mainly focused on feting Xi's warmth and stature.
"It's been an incredible visit. I think a lot of good has come of it," Trump told Xi at their final meeting at the Zhongnanhai complex, a former imperial garden, before their lunch of lobster balls and Kung Pao chicken.
While Trump searched ?for immediate business wins, such as a deal to sell Boeing jets that did not impress investors, Xi talked up a long-term reset and pact to maintain stable trade ties with Washington, underscoring their differing priorities.
Xi pushed the new term to describe the relationship as "constructive strategic stability" - a sharp departure from the framing of "strategic competition" used by former US President Joe Biden which Beijing disliked.
"Until now, China hasn't proposed an alternative - now they have - if the US side agrees, that is progress," said Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
A brief US summary of Thursday's talks highlighted what the White House called the leaders' shared desire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz off Iran, and Xi's interest in American oil purchases to pare its dependence on the Middle East.
But just before the leaders met for tea on Friday, China's foreign ministry issued a blunt statement outlining its frustration with the war.
"This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue," the ministry said, adding that China supported efforts to reach a peace deal in a war that had disrupted energy supplies and the global economy.
At Zhongnanhai, Trump said the leaders had discussed Iran and felt "very similar", though Xi did not comment. On the flight back home, Trump added that he wasn't "asking for any favors" on Iran. "REUTERS
