CHINESE President Xi Jinping warned his US counterpart Donald Trump that mishandling the Taiwan issue could trigger “clashes and even conflicts” between the two countries, as the leaders held wide-ranging talks on the Iran war, energy security and trade on Thursday. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US policy toward Taiwan is “unchanged” after President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping but warned it would be “a terrible mistake” for China to take Taiwan by force. Rubio made the remarks in an interview with NBC News while travelling with the President on his trip to China. He sidestepped Xi’s warning that differences over the self-governing island could lead to a clash, and said that China always raises the issue of Taiwan in talks. “US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today and as of the meeting that we had here today. It was raised. They always raise it on their side. We always make clear our position, and we move on to the other topics,” Rubio said. After concluding the first round of talks in Beijing, which lasted for around two hours, Trump invited Xi and his wife to the White House on September 24, even as both leaders were in agreement that the Strait of Hormuz needs to be opened to support global energy needs.

 

China and the US have agreed on a “new vision” for building constructive bilateral ties, Xi said. “I have agreed with President Trump on a new vision of building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability.” Xi said the “new vision” would provide strategic guidance for bilateral relations over the next three years and beyond, and should be welcomed by the people of both countries as well as the international community, official media reported. He, however, stressed that the Taiwan question remained the most important issue in China-US relations. If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship “will enjoy overall stability”, Xi said. Otherwise, the two countries could face “clashes and even conflicts”, putting bilateral ties in great jeopardy, the leader was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency. The Chinese President urged the US to exercise extra caution in handling the Taiwan issue. Rubio said China agreed that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons and had also conveyed its opposition to the militarisation of the Strait of Hormuz and any tolling system for ships using the route. Shipping movements through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by the conflict in West Asia which started on February 28 with the US and Israel. Earlier on Thursday, Trump had described the meeting with Xi as “maybe the biggest summit ever”, saying the two countries would have a “fantastic future together”.

 

Calling Xi a “great leader”, Trump said the talks covered the Iran war, trade tensions, tariffs, technology and Taiwan. Trump, who arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, is accompanied by several top American business leaders, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Apple chief Tim Cook, Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. He is expected to leave on Friday after a final private meeting with Xi. This is the first visit to China by a US President in nine years. Trump himself was the last US President to visit the country in 2017 during his first term. The leaders also highlighted the need to build on progress in ending the flow of fentanyl precursors into the US, while increasing Chinese purchases of American agricultural products, it said. The fentanyl issue has remained a major source of friction between Washington and Beijing, with the Trump administration repeatedly pressing China to curb exports of precursor chemicals used by criminal groups to manufacture the synthetic opioid. Agricultural exports, particularly soybeans and corn, have meanwhile been a key element of past trade deals between the two countries “The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy,” the White House said, adding that Xi “made clear China’s opposition to the militarisation of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use”.

 

Xi also “expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait in the future”. China has not imported US oil since May 2025 after imposing 20% tariffs during the trade war, with analysts saying any large-scale resumption of purchases would likely require the duties to be lifted. Even at its peak, the US was never a major crude supplier to China, which is the world’s largest oil importer. “Both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” the White House said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump had raised the Iran issue during talks with Xi but had not sought Beijing’s assistance. “We’re not asking for China’s help. We don’t need their help.” The meeting comes amid growing geopolitical tensions over the Iran conflict, renewed tariff disputes, export controls, rare earth supply chains and US arms sales to Taiwan.