President Donald Trump was uncharacteristically tight-lipped following the first key meeting of his trip to Beijing.
Trump and his delegation, including top administration officials and Silicon Valley CEOs, flew into the Chinese capital on Wednesday night ahead of meetings with President Xi Jinping on Thursday and Friday.
Trump was greeted on Thursday by an elaborate display including a red carpet, a cannon salute, an honor guard, and children waving flags, with Xi himself welcoming the president outside the Great Hall of the People before the first round of talks.
In their introductory remarks, the leaders exchanged pleasantries, with Xi noting that “the whole world is watching our meeting” and asking if the U.S. and China can “meet global challenges together and provide more stability for the world.”
Trump, for his part, heaped praise on his Chinese counterpart, telling Xi, “You’re a great leader, I say it to everybody, you’re a great leader.”
“Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway because it’s true. I only say the truth.”
The 79-year-old struck a markedly different tone when speaking to reporters after the first round of talks had concluded after roughly two hours and 15 minutes.
Standing with Xi outside Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, Trump was asked how the talks went. Without cracking a smile, or showing any emotion at all, he replied: “It’s great—a great place. Incredible. China is beautiful."
Xi remained silent, and Trump said nothing further. The pair then thanked reporters before heading inside the temple, as one reporter attempted to ask one final question about Taiwan.
The official White House-affiliated @RapidResponse47 account later shared a clip of the moment on X, cut before the reporter can be heard asking about Taiwan.
CNN White House reporter Betsy Klein noted how “uncharacteristically restrained” the president appeared during the photo opp, adding that he “usually would have something to say on that subject, and many others, and we’ve seen him be quite freewheeling in his public appearances, even in the last week, going off-script regularly.”
“But really, in that situation, making clear that he understands he is Xi’s guest here, or just not wanting to talk about it,” Klein added.
While the talks were expected to touch on everything from trade and technology to geopolitical issues like Iran and Taiwan, the Associated Press reported after the meeting, citing Chinese state media, that Xi warned Trump that differences over Taiwan could lead the U.S. and China into conflict.
Of particular concern is a stalled sale of U.S. arms to Taiwan worth $14 billion. While it has been approved by Congress, Trump has yet to formally move ahead with the deal, although prior to Thursday’s talks he had explicitly stated that he would discuss future arms sales to Taiwan with Xi.
The issue threatens to bring to an end a longstanding policy, initiated by President Ronald Reagan, that the U.S. does not consult Beijing on arms sales to Taiwan.
In a letter addressed to the president ahead of his departure for China, a bipartisan group of senators urged Trump and his team to “make clear that America’s support for Taiwan is inviolable.”
“You can make clear to Beijing that as you seek to level the economic playing field, American support for Taiwan is not up for negotiation,” the letter, signed by six Democratic senators and two Republicans, read.
