Trump insists US-China relations are in a good place despite differences as he wraps up Beijing trip

President Donald Trump participates in a welcome ceremony with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) 2026-05-15T00:00:31Z Beijing (AP) — As President Donald Trump wraps up his whirlwind visit to China on Friday, he’s insistent that relations between the world’s two biggest powers are good and getting better despite deep differences on Iran, Taiwan and more. Trump started his last day in Beijing by insisting in a social media post that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had “congratulated me on so many tremendous successes” and had been referring only to his predecessor, former U.S. President Joe Biden, when he “very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation.” But Trump’s rosy outlook on the U.S.-China relationship collides with some difficult truths about the thorniest issues between the two superpowers. Beijing has shown little public interest in U.S. entreaties to get more involved in solving the conflict in Iran , even though Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Xi had in their conversations offered to help. And the White House believes China can still do more to stem the flow of Chinese-made precursor chemicals into Mexico used to make illicit fentanyl that has wreaked havoc on many U.S. communities. Xi, meanwhile, warned Trump during private talks that their differences on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, if handled poorly, could hurtle the world’s dominant powers toward “clashes and even conflicts,” according to Chinese government officials. Trump and Xi are set to have more time together at Xi’s official residence in Beijing on Friday before the U.S. leader makes the long journey back to Washington. Taiwan remains the most important issue for China Xi’s sharp language on Taiwan loomed large over Thursday’s talks, even as Trump sought to play up the notion that the U.S. and China share a “special relationship.” But Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News that U.S. policy toward Taiwan was “unchanged” and cautioned that it would be “a terrible mistake” for China to try to take Taiwan by force. He also framed Xi’s comments as standard practice. “They always raise it on their side. We always make clear our position, and we move on to the other topics,” said Rubio, who was among senior aides to join Trump for the talks. (