Trump Says Talks with Xi on Taiwan, AI, Trade and Iran Were ‘Historic’

Washington, May 2026 : US President Donald Trump said he held extensive and “very historic” discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping covering a wide range of strategic issues including Taiwan, artificial intelligence, trade, cyber operations, Iran and nuclear arms reduction, signalling a possible thaw in relations between the world’s two largest economies.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while travelling to Alaska, Trump repeatedly praised Xi and described the meetings in Beijing as highly productive and constructive.

“President Xi is an incredible guy,” Trump told reporters. “We had an amazing time. It was a very historic couple of days, I think.”

According to Trump, one of the central issues discussed during the meetings was Taiwan, which remains among the most sensitive and potentially volatile flashpoints in US-China relations. Trump said Xi strongly opposed any move toward Taiwanese independence and warned of serious consequences if tensions escalated.

“President Xi and I talked a lot about Taiwan,” Trump said. “On Taiwan, he does not want to see a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation.”

Trump revealed that Xi raised concerns about continued US arms sales to Taiwan and directly questioned whether Washington would intervene militarily in the event of a conflict involving the island.

“He asked me if I’d defend them. I said, I don’t talk about that,” Trump stated.

The US President also indicated that his administration would soon make a decision regarding future arms sales to Taiwan, a matter that Beijing has consistently opposed.

“I’ll make a determination over the next fairly short period of time,” he added.

Apart from geopolitical tensions, the two leaders also reportedly discussed emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. Trump suggested that Washington and Beijing could cooperate on establishing safeguards and regulations to reduce the risks associated with rapidly advancing AI systems.

“We talked about possibly working together for guardrails,” Trump said. “AI is fantastic. So many things can happen in terms of health and medicine and operations, everything, the military.”

Trump indicated that discussions included concerns surrounding biological threats, nuclear risks and cyber security challenges linked to artificial intelligence, with both countries exploring ways to prevent uncontrolled escalation in these areas.

Trade relations also featured prominently during the talks. Trump announced what he described as a major commercial breakthrough involving aircraft manufacturer Boeing, saying China had agreed to purchase more than 200 aircraft, with the possibility of expanding the order substantially in the future.

On the economic front, Trump also referred to involvement by General Electric, whose engines are used in aircraft connected to the Boeing agreement.

“They’re buying General Electric,” Trump remarked while discussing the broader aviation deal.

Another major topic discussed was nuclear arms reduction and denuclearisation. Trump said both sides addressed the possibility of future strategic arms control efforts involving the United States, China and Russia.

“We brought it up, the denuclearization,” Trump said. “The concept of that is something that would be very good.”

The President further disclosed that cyber operations and espionage activities between the two countries were openly acknowledged during the discussions. Responding to questions about Chinese cyber spying and intelligence operations, Trump admitted that both countries engage heavily in surveillance activities.

“We spy like hell on them, too,” he said.

Trump also stated that Xi shared Washington’s concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions and agreed that Tehran should not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.

“He feels strongly they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump noted.

The remarks from Trump suggest that despite ongoing strategic competition between Washington and Beijing over trade, military influence, advanced technology and Indo-Pacific security, both sides may be seeking broader engagement to stabilise relations and avoid direct confrontation.

Analysts believe the discussions could mark an effort by both countries to reopen communication channels at the highest level amid rising global tensions and economic uncertainty. However, major disagreements remain unresolved, particularly over Taiwan, military activity in the Indo-Pacific and technology restrictions.

The Taiwan issue continues to be the most delicate aspect of US-China relations, with Beijing viewing the island as part of its territory while the United States maintains unofficial ties and continues to support Taiwan’s defence capabilities.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)