Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned Donald Trump that the US and China will fight a war if Washington ramps up its support for Taiwan. Xi said the two countries could “come into conflict” over the disputed island during their bilateral meeting. He called Taiwan the “most important issue in China-US relations” in comments released by state media on Thursday.
The Chinese President added: “If it is handled well, bilateral relations can remain generally stable. If it is not handled properly, the two countries could collide or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China–US relationship into a very dangerous situation.”
These comments, which the US President has yet to respond to, are the first insight into the meeting between the two leaders. Their meeting ran over by an hour, lasting two hours and 15 minutes.
Before the talks, Xi stressed in his opening remarks that “the whole world is watching our meeting”, and the US and China should “be friends, not rivals”.
Mr Trump also praised his relationship with his Chinese counterpart and their ability to work out issues “very quickly”.
He said: “I say it to everybody [that] you’re a great leader – sometimes people don’t like me saying it – but I say it anyway because it’s true. I always say the truth.”
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