BEIJING: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said President Xi Jinping had offered China’s help to open the Strait of Hormuz and pledged not to send military equipment to aid Iran in its war against the US and Israel.
“He said he’s not going to give military equipment... he said that strongly,” Trump told the “Hannity” show on Fox News, after the two leaders met in Beijing. “He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open, and said ‘if I can be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help,’” Trump added.
President Trump hailed “extremely positive” talks with Xi Jinping in remarks made at an opulent banquet in Beijing attended by top leaders and American business figures, including Elon Musk and Tim Cook.
The two leaders rounded off the first full day of a closely watched summit in the Chinese capital with the banquet in a red-carpeted dining room in the lavish Great Hall of the People abutting Tiananmen Square. Trump also said he had invited Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan to visit the White House on September 24.
Live images streamed before the leaders arrived showed a jovial atmosphere, with several among the top brass of China’s ruling Communist Party seen chatting and smiling with members of Trump’s administration.
The buoyant mood belied major frictions in the relationship between the world’s top two economies.
Washington and Beijing have long clashed on a wide range of issues including trade, technology and Taiwan. Ties have been complicated further since the United States and Israel launched the war with Iran, which has relied on China as its top buyer of oil, on February 28.
Xi said in his remarks at the banquet that China’s advancement could go “hand-in-hand” with “making America great again”—a direct reference to Trump’s signature political slogan.
However, Xi also warned Trump earlier that missteps by the United States on Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict”. Trump did not mention the sensitive issue of Taiwan since arriving in Beijing on Wednesday evening, ignoring multiple questions from reporters on the subject following his talks with Xi.
Today’s (Friday’s) schedule will involve further talks between the two top leaders, as well as a tea reception, before Trump boards Air Force One for his flight back to Washington.
President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a “good” meeting in Beijing on Thursday, the White House said, in a readout that did not include any reference to Taiwan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told a delegation of US business executives that China would “open wider” to the world during US-China talks. “China’s doors to the outside world will open wider and wider... American companies will enjoy even brighter prospects in China,” Xi said, Chinese state media reported. The Chinese president told Trump the two countries should be “partners and not rivals”. “A stable China-US relationship is a boon for the world. Cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both. We should be partners and not rivals,” Xi said. Xi added he was “happy” to receive Trump for the US leader’s first trip to China since 2017 as “the world has arrived at a new crossroads.”
Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping discussed the war in the Middle East, the Ukraine conflict, and issues on the Korean Peninsula when they met in Beijing on Thursday, the Chinese government said.
President Trump said China had agreed to purchase 200 Boeing jets, speaking of an order for “200 big ones” in a broadcast interview. “It was sort of like a statement but I think it was a commitment,” Trump said.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Thursday that the United States and China were discussing setting up “guardrails” for the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The two sides have a number of outstanding trade disputes, including on US export controls on advanced AI technology to China. The Treasury secretary said Washington and Beijing would set up a “protocol” on the path forward on AI, particularly “to make sure non-state actors don’t get a hold of these models.”
Bessent said President Trump would say more on Taiwan “in the coming days”.
“It wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up,” Bessent, who is with Trump in China, told US business news network CNBC, adding: “I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from him in the coming days.”
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said China is the “sole risk” to regional peace and stability.
President Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping visited Beijing’s historic Temple of Heaven after concluding high-stakes talks on Thursday. The two leaders arrived at the world heritage site shortly after 1 pm (0500 GMT), where Trump told reporters that “China’s beautiful”, after talks that touched on thorny issues.
Asian markets were mixed Thursday as investors weighed high-stakes US-China talks and persistent inflation concerns, which tempered optimism fuelled by record highs on Wall Street.
The cautious mood came after another tech-led rally on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit record highs, driven by continued enthusiasm for artificial intelligence investment. European and US stock markets climbed as a tech-fuelled rally rolled on even as the United States and China were locked in talks in Beijing.
International benchmark Brent crude was marginally up Thursday morning, going for a little over $105 a barrel. Brent North Sea Crude was up 0.13 percent at 105.77 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was up 0.12 percent at 101.14 a barrel at around 0230 GMT. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that naval forces had allowed a number of Chinese ships to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz since the previous night. “It was ultimately concluded that a number of Chinese ships requested by this country would pass through this area after an agreement on Iran’s strait management protocols,” the Guards said in a statement. “This passage began last night,” they added.
Iranian state television said “more than 30 ships” had been allowed to pass, although it was not clear if they were all Chinese. Iran’s foreign minister urged BRICS nations on Thursday to condemn what he called violations of international law by the United States and Israel, as diplomats from emerging economies met for talks in Delhi in the shadow of war in the Middle East.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused US ally the United Arab Emirates of direct involvement in military operations against Iran, in a rare moment when Iranian and Emirati officials have been in the same room since the US-Israeli war against Iran began on February 28. Araghchi said Iran was a “victim of illegal expansionism and warmongering”.
Later, he told the gathering that the UAE was “directly involved in the aggression against my country”, the Iranian semi-official Mehr news agency reported. The UAE was represented by its Deputy Foreign Minister Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar. Britain’s King Charles III on Thursday visited a north London district whose large Jewish community has been targeted by a spate of antisemitic attacks and met victims of a recent stabbing.
Lebanon and Israel held new peace talks in Washington on Thursday, as their latest ceasefire—considered to still be in place despite hundreds of deaths in Israeli strikes—nears its end.
Israel’s military said it was striking Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon on Thursday after warning residents of several towns and villages there and in the country’s east to evacuate. It also said a Hezbollah drone fell in Israeli territory, wounding several civilians.
The International Monetary Fund warned on Thursday that continuing disruptions due to the Iran war meant its global economic outlook was moving towards an “adverse” scenario, with growth pared down and greater risks to inflation. Iran’s football federation chief said on Thursday that no visas had yet been issued for the national team to participate in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, state media reported.
India’s capital announced fuel-saving measures on Thursday, including work-from-home days for government employees, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for reduced consumption as the Middle East war disrupts supply chains. A ship off the UAE coast near the Strait of Hormuz has been taken by unknown people and is now headed towards Iranian waters, a UK maritime agency said on Thursday. The vessel was “taken by unauthorised personnel whilst at anchor” 38 nautical miles (70 kilometres) northeast of Fujairah, and “is now bound for Iranian territorial waters”, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre. India’s foreign ministry condemned an attack of an Indian-flagged ship off Oman as “unacceptable” on Thursday, with maritime security monitors reporting the cargo vessel had sunk. New Delhi did not give further details on the attack on Wednesday, and the fate of the unnamed ship, nor who it believes was responsible. After months under a near-total internet blackout during the Middle East war, Iranian tech worker Amir-Hassan was finally able to get back online, but only through a privileged service that has sparked public criticism.
Millions like the 39-year-old have been unable to access the internet since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, punishing the pockets of online entrepreneurs and workers. Saudi Arabia floated Middle Eastern non-aggression pact with Iran, FT reported. A fire on board a fully loaded Kuwaiti crude oil tanker hit by an Iranian attack at Dubai Port’s anchorage on Monday was extinguished, authorities said, after the strike damaged the vessel’s hull and raised concerns about a possible oil spill.
