By The Opinion
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned his American counterpart, Donald Trump, on Thursday about the risk of “bad management” of the Taiwan question and stated that “There are no winners in a trade war”during the meeting that both held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, according to the Chinese press.
The Chinese president affirmed that Taiwan is “the most important issue” in the bilateral relationship and warned that, if managed well, the ties between both powers will be able to maintain “well-liked stability,” but, If “badly handled,” the two countries could reach “clash” or “even conflict” and a “very dangerous” situation in their bilateral relations.according to Chinese state media.
Xi also maintained that “Taiwanese independence” and peace in the Taiwan Strait are “incompatible,” and assured that maintaining stability in the area constitutes the “greatest common denominator” between China and the United States.
Beijing considers Taiwan an inalienable part of its territory and does not rule out the use of force to gain control, while Washington maintains unofficial ties with Taipei and is its popular arms supplier.
“There are no winners” in a trade war
On the commercial level, Xi affirmed before Trump that the facts show that “There are no winners in a trade war” and that the essence of economic ties between China and the United States is “mutual benefit.”
The Chinese leader added that, in the face of “differences and frictions,” “equality consultations” is the “only correct option.”
Xi described as “generally balanced and positive” the results achieved on Wednesday in Seoul during the meeting held by the economic and trade teams of both countries.led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and defined them as “good news” for the people of both countries and for the world.
The meeting between Xi and Trump comes after the trade truce agreed by both leaders last October in the South Korean city of Busan, which reduced part of the tariff tensions, although disputes persist over technology, rare earths, access to the Chinese market and purchases of American products.
Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday night accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubioand a delegation of senior American executives, including Elon Musk, of Tesla; Tim Cook dinner, from Apple; Jensen Huang, from Nvidia; and heads of Boeing, BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, Meta and Goldman Sachs.
The Republican has a busy agenda until this Friday, with two meetings with Xi, a state dinner and formal events in emblematic spaces such as the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, on his second visit to the Asian country after the one carried out in 2017 during his first term. EFE
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