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Home – China – XI Tells Trump That Mishandling of Taiwan Could Spark Conflict

XI Tells Trump That Mishandling of Taiwan Could Spark Conflict

Trevor Hunnicutt | Mei Mei Chu

BEIJING, May 14 (Reuters) — China’s Xi Jinping told President Donald Trump that trade talks were making progress at the start of a two-day summit on Thursday, but cautioned that disagreement over Taiwan could send relations down a dangerous path and even lead to conflict.

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 U.S. summary of the talks made no mention of Taiwan.

Instead it 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.

The first visit by a U.S. president to China in nearly a decade has taken on added significance as Trump searches for economic wins.

“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 honor guard and throngs of children waving flowers and........

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