BEIJING: Donald Trump on Friday concluded his visit to China, saying he had reached “fantastic trade deals” with Chinese President Xi Jinping during talks in Beijing.
Trump had travelled to the Chinese capital aiming to secure agreements in areas including agriculture, aviation and artificial intelligence, while also addressing tensions between Washington and Beijing on key geopolitical issues, particularly the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
During the visit, Trump repeatedly praised Xi, describing him as a “great leader” and a “friend”. However, Xi’s public remarks remained comparatively measured throughout the summit.
Speaking after the talks, Trump said the visit had produced positive outcomes for both countries.
“We’ve made some fantastic trade deals, great for both countries,” Trump said while Xi accompanied him through the gardens of Zhongnanhai, the central leadership compound located beside Beijing’s Forbidden City.
The US president added that the two sides had resolved several complicated issues but did not provide specific details.
Xi described the trip as a “milestone visit” and said China and the United States had established “a new bilateral relationship” based on “constructive strategic stability”.
The Chinese leader also told Trump that he would send seeds for the White House Rose Garden.
In an interview with Fox News after the first day of the summit, Trump said discussions with Xi had gone smoothly and claimed the Chinese president had agreed to several points sought by Washington.
Discussing the conflict involving Iran, Trump said Xi had assured him that China would not provide military assistance to Tehran, which has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz.
“He said he’s not going to give military equipment … he said that strongly,” Trump told Fox News.
Trump added that Xi wanted to see the Strait of Hormuz reopened and had offered assistance if needed.
When asked whether Iran had been discussed during the summit, China’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Friday calling for “a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire”.
The ministry also said shipping lanes should be reopened as soon as possible in response to international calls.
Despite the cordial atmosphere during the visit, tensions over Taiwan remained visible. Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that mistakes regarding Taiwan could push the two countries toward “conflict”.
Trump did not publicly comment on Taiwan during the summit, and the issue was not discussed in his Fox News interview.
However, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later told CNBC that Trump would speak more on the matter in the coming days.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC that Washington’s policy on Taiwan remained unchanged.
Rubio said Beijing had raised the issue during discussions, but the United States had reiterated its longstanding position before moving on to other topics.
Taiwan’s government later thanked Washington for repeatedly expressing support for the island.
Trump also spoke about trade deals reached during the visit, though he did not disclose details publicly on Friday.
In the Fox interview, he claimed Xi had agreed to purchase “200 big” Boeing aircraft. However, shares of Boeing fell following the comments, suggesting markets had anticipated a larger order.
Trump further said China had shown interest in purchasing American oil and soybeans.
China, previously a major buyer of Iranian oil, had imported limited amounts of US oil before Trump imposed tariffs last year. Beijing has also significantly reduced purchases of American soybeans in favour of imports from Brazil.
China’s foreign ministry neither confirmed nor denied the trade agreements mentioned by Trump.
No announcements were made regarding advanced artificial intelligence chips produced by Nvidia, although the company’s chief executive Jensen Huang was part of Trump’s business delegation.
Chinese technology companies remain barred from purchasing Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips under US export restrictions, which Washington says are necessary for national security reasons.
Treasury Secretary Bessent said Trump and Xi had discussed creating “guardrails” for artificial intelligence cooperation.
He added that the world’s “two AI superpowers” would begin talks on the technology, although American export controls remained a major point of tension between the two countries.
Trump’s trip marked the first visit to Beijing by a sitting American president in nearly a decade.
During Thursday’s talks, Xi referenced the “Thucydides Trap”, a political theory suggesting war becomes more likely when a rising power challenges an established one.
However, Xi said he believed China and the United States could “transcend” such dangers.
Responding later on social media, Trump said Xi had “very elegantly” referred to the United States as “perhaps being a declining nation”.
Trump argued that Xi’s remarks referred to America under former president Joe Biden rather than under his own leadership.
“Two years ago, we were, in fact, a Nation in decline,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“Now, the United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before!”
Trump also said Xi had congratulated him on what he called his administration’s “tremendous successes”.
Following a walk through the Zhongnanhai gardens on Friday, Trump and Xi held a lunch meeting before the US president departed for the airport.
As Trump boarded Air Force One before take-off, he pumped his fist in the air twice.