China's President Xi Jinping warned US President Donald Trump on Thursday that mishandling the countries' disagreements over Taiwan could push China-US relations to "a very dangerous place," as the two leaders met for a closely watched summit.
Xi's remarks on Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by Beijing, came in a closed-door meeting of the leaders of the world's two largest economies that ran more than two hours, China's foreign ministry said.
They represented a stark - if not unprecedented - warning during a pomp-filled occasion that was otherwise friendly and relaxed, although the US summary of the talks made no mention of Taiwan.
According to Chinese state media Xinhua, Xi told Trump that if the Taiwan issue is not handled well, the two countries would clash or even come into conflict, pushing China-US relations into "a very dangerous place."
Taiwan, which lies just 50 miles (80 kilometres) off China's southwest coast, has long been a flashpoint in the US-China relationship, with Beijing refusing to rule out the use of military force to gain control of the island and the United States bound by law to provide Taipei with the means to defend itself.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is with Trump in China, confirmed to NBC News that the issue of Taiwan was discussed, saying the Chinese "always raise it on their side, we always make clear our position and we move on to the other topics."
The US summary of the talks focused on the leaders' shared desire to reopen the key waterway of the Strait of Hormuz, effectively closed due to the Iran war, and Xi's apparent interest in buying American oil to reduce China's dependence on Middle East supplies.
"There are those who say this may be the biggest summit ever," Trump told Xi in brief opening remarks, after a ceremony that featured an honour guard and throngs of children waving flowers and flags at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.
Xi told Trump that preparatory negotiations between US and Chinese economic and trade teams in South Korea on Wednesday had reached "balanced and positive outcomes", China's foreign ministry said in a summary.
The talks aimed to maintain a fragile trade truce struck when the leaders last met in October, where Trump suspended triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods and Xi backed away from choking global supplies of vital rare earths. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who led Wednesday's talks, said he expected progress on establishing mechanisms to support future bilateral trade and investment, and an announcement about large Chinese orders for Boeing aircraft.
Trump expected Xi to raise the thorny issue of US arms sales to Taiwan, he said earlier this week. With the status of a $14 billion package awaiting Trump's approval still unclear, China has reiterated its strong opposition to the sales.
"US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today," Rubio told NBC. Trump did not respond to a reporter's shouted question whether the leaders had discussed Taiwan as he posed with Xi later for photos at the Temple of Heaven, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where emperors once prayed for good harvests.
Taipei said there was nothing surprising from the summit and that China's military pressure is the real threat to peace.
At a lavish state banquet attended by senior officials and business executives, Xi told the audience that the China-US relationship was the most important in the world.
"We must make it work and never mess it up," Xi said, before guests tucked into a 10-course dinner that included lobster soup, Beijing roast duck and tiramisu.
The leaders will take tea and lunch together on Friday before Trump departs. Joining Trump on his visit are a group of CEOs looking to resolve issues with China, from Elon Musk, viewed in China as a visionary and occasional villain, to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, a late addition to the delegation.
The United States has cleared around 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia's powerful H200 AI chip, but not a single delivery has been made so far, Reuters exclusively reported.
Trump is expected to encourage China to convince Iran to make a deal with Washington to end the conflict, as a fifth of global supplies of oil and natural gas travel through the Strait of Hormuz in normal times.
But analysts doubt Xi will be willing to push Tehran hard or end support for its military, given Iran's value to Beijing as a strategic counterweight to the United States.
Rubio told Fox News that it was in China's interest to help resolve the crisis as many of its ships are stuck in the Persian Gulf and a slowdown in the global economy would hurt its exporters.
Iran's Fars news agency reported on Thursday that an agreement had been reached to let some Chinese ships pass.
Trump on Thursday invited Xi for a reciprocal visit to the White House on September 24, the first since Trump began his second term last year.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Mei Mei Chu, Antoni Slodkowski, Laurie Chen and the Beijing newsroom and Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani, Lincoln Feast, Clarence Fernandez, Philippa Fletcher and Deepa Babington)