- We do not want Iran to have nuclear weapons, we want the way to open
- Xi clearly said that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons
- Opening the Strait of Hormuz is in China’s interest
- We can destroy Iran’s power plants in just two days
- China agreed to buy 200 Boeing aircraft, with a potential commitment to buy 750 aircraft
- “I made no commitments on Taiwan”
- Don’t think there is any conflict regarding Taiwan’s situation, talked to Xi a lot about this
So far, China has made the only comments regarding the situation in Iran following Trump and Xi’s talks: “There is no reason for this conflict, which should never have happened, to continue.”
The nature of the comments pretty much sums it all up. As mentioned earlier, the contradictory focus also speaks volumes about the lack of any real breakthrough from their meeting this week.
The US camp has avoided trying to talk about Taiwan and has focused more on trade “wins” and trade/investment deals. Meanwhile, China has clearly stressed that Taiwan is the “most important issue” regarding bilateral relations at this time.
And on the Iran war, China has made no commitments or promises about trying to mediate the situation. So, it is something that Trump cannot walk away with victory by claiming that he managed to twist Xi’s arm into helping end the war. And Beijing has been very careful with its messaging here so that Trump does not get an opportunity to spin the narrative.
As for the rest of their meeting, I mentioned it earlier:
“Trump’s visit to China to meet Xi was largely for show, with both sides wanting to confirm to the world that the two major powers are maintaining a more stable relationship at a time of economic turmoil. Especially after last year’s tariff war that strained relations between the two countries.
There will be agreements on trade and some other things at the show in Beijing this week. However, don’t expect much to change in terms of the bigger picture between the US and China.
Soybean purchases, Boeing airplane orders, technology investments, and AI chip orders. Some gestures of goodwill will be given during the state visit this week, but it will not go beyond that. We’ve seen it all before and many times over.”
