Trump Returns From Xi Summit, Says Taiwan Was Xi’s Most Important Issue

President Donald Trump returned to the US after a two-day summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and he told Fox News that Taiwan was the “most important” issue for Xi during their talks.

“01:06 01:21 01:56 11:35 09:56 01:20 01:11 23:17 05:09 20 Minutes avec AFP Published May 16, 2026 at 2:10 a”

20 Minutes

Trump said he’d like the situation with the island to “stay the way it is,” while the meetings ended without any substantive agreements announced on key issues.

20 Minutes

As Trump flew back to Washington, talks hosted by the State Department secured a 45-day extension to the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that was due to expire on Sunday.

Trump also said the United States allowed three Chinese tankers filled with Iranian oil out of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week, adding that the vessels were allowed to transit “because we allowed that to happen.”

Trump said he and Xi agreed Tehran should not have a nuclear weapon, and he described a pending $14 billion deal to sell arms to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip.”

Trump said Friday he was unsure whether to greenlight a planned $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan after discussing arms sales in “great detail” with Xi Jinping.

On the plane back to D.C., Trump said, “The last thing we need right now is a war that's 9,500 miles away,” while Axios reported the administration has held up the package for months.

ABC News

Trump acknowledged the U.S. pledged under the 1982 “six assurances” policy not to consult with China about arms sales to Taiwan, but he said, “What am I going to do, say I don't want to talk to you about it because I have an agreement wrote in 1982? No, we discussed arms sales.”

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh said they are “paying close attention” to the Trump-Xi meeting after Trump told reporters he would “make a determination over the next fairly short period.”

Xi warned Trump that if the Taiwan issue is handled “improperly,” the two nations could “come into conflict,” according to China’s official state news source Xinhua, and Trump said he does not want to see a fight for independence.

Trump told reporters, “I heard him out,” and “I didn’t make a comment,” while he said he has “a lot of respect” for Xi and refused to commit to coming to Taiwan’s defense in the event of a Chinese attack.

The Hill reported that a group of eight Republican and Democratic senators urged Trump in a Monday letter to move forward with the sale, as the Trump administration faced bipartisan pressure from Congress.

Trump also said he is considering lifting sanctions on Chinese companies that buy Iranian oil, and he argued he doesn’t “need favors” from China to help with Iran as the Strait of Hormuz dispute continues.

In a separate framing of the same Taiwan tension, 20 Minutes said Trump warned Taiwan against any declaration of independence and stated that “we would then have to travel 15,000 kilometers to wage war.”