Overview
- Trump, who met Xi again Friday at Zhongnanhai, said Xi offered to help broker an end to the Iran war and vowed not to send arms to Tehran, though Chinese readouts did not repeat those pledges.
- Both leaders said the Strait of Hormuz should be reopened and that Iran must not get a nuclear weapon, as China’s foreign ministry called the conflict unnecessary and pressed for restoring shipping lanes.
- Trade outcomes remained sketchy, with Trump promoting farm, energy and airplane purchases and a proposed Board of Trade to chip away at tariffs, while analysts called the economic substance modest.
- Xi warned that mishandling Taiwan could lead to clashes, and Trump said he has not decided whether to proceed with the previously authorized $11 billion U.S. arms package for the island.
- Rising energy costs tied to the closed strait have fed U.S. inflation, and Democrats seized on Trump’s remark that he does not think about Americans’ financial struggles as they craft midterm attacks.