President Trump and Xi Jinping emphasized stability as they concluded a high-stakes summit in Beijing. No clear resolutions were announced on Taiwan or major issues such as Iran. Trump said they discussed Taiwan extensively and reviewed a long-delayed $14 billion U.S. arms sale to self-governed Taiwan, which the administration has held off on approving to avoid upsetting China. Trump said Xi had become a friend and that both felt similarly about the war in the Middle East. Xi said he chose to host Trump at Zhongnanhai to reciprocate a 2017 visit and described the meeting as a historic milestone establishing a new bilateral relationship based on constructive strategic stability. Trump said the last thing needed was a war far away from the United States.
"President Trump and China's leader, Xi Jinping, emphasized stability on Friday as they concluded a high-stakes summit in Beijing. While the two leaders did not announce any clear resolutions on Taiwan or major issues like Iran, Mr. Trump said that they had talked extensively about Taiwan and a long-delayed U.S. arms sale to the self-governed island. Sitting beside Mr. Xi during a meeting at Zhongnanhai, the walled headquarters for China's ruling Communist Party, Mr. Trump said that the Chinese leader had become really a friend and that they felt similarly about the war in the Middle East."
"Mr. Xi said he had chosen to receive Mr. Trump at Zhongnanhai to reciprocate for his 2017 visit to Mar-a-Lago in Florida. In the comments he made publicly, he avoided wading into specific issues, in contrast to a blunt warning over Taiwan he issued on Thursday. Mr. Xi described the visit as a historic and symbolic milestone. We have established a new bilateral relationship, based on constructive strategic stability, he said."
"During his flight back to the United States, Mr. Trump told reporters on Air Force One that the two leaders had talked a lot about Taiwan and discussed in great detail a $14 billion weapons deal that the Trump administration has held off on approving to avoid upsetting China. I'll be making decisions, he said of the deal, without setting out a clear timeline. But you know, I think the last thing we need right now is a war that's 9,500 miles away."
"The Chinese government, which has not ruled out the use of force to take over Taiwan, bristles at any American arms sales to the island. Taiwan considers them essential for ensuring its defense against a Chinese invasion. Since 1979, Taiwan has received American arms worth tens of billions of dollars, although much of this arsenal is now aged."
Read at www.nytimes.com
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