"The Taiwan issue is the most important in Sino-American relations," the Chinese president stressed to the Republican billionaire, who is currently visiting Beijing.

The discussion of points of contention has begun. Xi Jinping warned Donald Trump this Thursday, May 24, of the risk of "conflict" between China and the United States if the Taiwan issue is mishandled. "The Taiwan issue is the most important in Sino-American relations," the Chinese president stated.

"If it is handled well, relations between the two countries (China and the United States) can remain broadly stable. If it is handled badly, the two countries will clash, or even come into conflict," Xi Jinping said, using a word in Mandarin that does not necessarily mean military conflict.

"Taiwanese independence is incompatible with peace in the Taiwan Strait," which separates the island from mainland China, the leader stressed to Donald Trump.

A "fabulous future"

President Donald Trump, however, promised his counterpart Xi Jinping a "fabulous future" between the United States and China, making conciliatory remarks far removed from the multiple tensions between the two powers at the opening of a summit with global stakes.

Despite the pomp and ceremony given to Donald Trump for this state visit, his host remained in a more subdued and usual register, invoking an ancient Greek historian, Thucydides, to reiterate that China and the United States should be "partners, not rivals."

At the same time, the Taiwanese government stated on Thursday that the United States had expressed its "clear and firm support" for the island during these discussions.

"The US side has repeatedly reaffirmed its clear and firm support for Taiwan," Taiwanese government spokeswoman Michelle Lee told reporters. Furthermore, Taipei maintains that it considers Beijing "the only risk" to regional peace.

Military maneuvers around the island

China considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces, which it has not yet managed to "unify" with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. It advocates for a peaceful takeover but does not rule out the use of force.

The United States maintains diplomatic relations with Beijing but not with Taipei. However, it is the island's main arms supplier, which displeases the Chinese authorities, who see it as an infringement on national sovereignty.

China regularly asks the United States not to provide military and diplomatic support to the current Taiwanese authorities, who come from a party with a traditionally pro-independence credo.

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Beijing has intensified its military maneuvers around Taiwan since 2016 and the arrival of Tsai Ing-wen as president of the island, then of her successor Lai Ching-te in 2024, both categorically opposed to Chinese claims.

Grand visit

Beyond the exceptional nature of the visit, the first by an American president since Donald Trump himself made it in 2017, the summit is widely presented as an opportunity for both sides to maintain a certain stability between the world's two leading economic powers and not to exacerbate existing crises.

Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet for Donald Trump upon his arrival at the monumental Great Hall of the People, the seat of power adjoining the immense Tiananmen Square in the heart of the capital, decorated with Chinese and American flags.

After reviewing a military guard to the sound of a cannon salute, then greeting a crowd of children carrying flowers and waving the flags of both countries while chanting "welcome, welcome, warm welcome!", Xi and Trump quickly got down to the nitty-gritty of contentious issues.

"The two heads of state exchanged views on major international and regional issues, including the situation in the Middle East, the crisis in Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Before the doors closed on the journalists, Donald Trump, who strongly believes in personal relationships between powerful figures and affirms his close ties with Xi Jinping, proclaimed it "an honor to stand by [his] side" and "an honor to be [his] friend." "Relations between China and the United States will be better than ever," he said.