Taiwan tensions poised to be primary flashpoint of Donald Trump’s Beijing agenda

Taiwan is likely to be “the most critical and contentious” issue when US President Donald Trump meets his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in less than two months, according to analysts, who called on Beijing and Washington to “turn the page” on trade.They also warned there was little chance the powers would make headway on nuclear arms control – an increasingly important fault line in bilateral ties – during Trump’s visit.While his precise arrival dates were still under discussion, Trump was expected to meet with Xi in Beijing in early April, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday.Trump has repeatedly signalled his enthusiasm for the trip, noting that he “very much” looked forward to it following a phone call with Xi on February 4.During the two-hour exchange, the Chinese leader also expressed his readiness to work with the American president to “accomplish more big things and good things” in China-US relations this year.Still, Xi sent a warning message to Trump that “the US must handle the issue of arms sales to Taiwan with prudence”.