May 14, 2026
What really happened during President Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping? Did China really issue a warning to the United States over Taiwan or say that the U.S. was a nation in decline?
The answer is we have a lot of words to dissect, but not a lot of facts. Let me explain.
President Trump is preparing to start his second day of meetings with President Xi, but the two met yesterday, and that’s where all this is coming from. And before I share what we know, you need to understand anytime world leaders meet like this, each side issues what’s called a “readout.” That readout explains to the public what was said and what was agreed to between the leaders. Importantly, each side’s readout is meant to make its leader look strong and powerful to the people of his country. You understand what I mean — each readout is going to make their president look like the tough guy. So it’s really up to you to decide which side you want to believe, or if you want to believe some stuff from one and some stuff from the other.
OK, so here are the readouts from the United States and from China. The White House readout is pretty short, and this is the lengthy readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Both agree that Trump and Xi discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries, and both agree that the two discussed trade — in particular agricultural trade — though there are some differences about what was actually promised. But that’s all.
The White House readout says the two talked about China allowing American businesses to do more business in the country and about continuing to end the flow of fentanyl. Then the White House says Trump and Xi “agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy,” and that President Xi “made clear China’s opposition” to Iran charging tolls in the strait or having a nuclear weapon. The White House also said Xi “expressed interest in purchasing more American oil.”
The Chinese readout says none of that. To be fair, there is a vague reference at the end that says the two heads of state exchanged views on major international and regional issues such as the situation in the Middle East. It definitely does not say that President Xi agreed that the strait needs to be open or that Iran should not charge tolls or have a nuclear weapon.
Instead, the Chinese readout talked heavily about strengthening the relationship between the United States and China. But it’s a little more vague about U.S. businesses operating in China. Interestingly enough, the Chinese readout put a whole paragraph in about how much President Trump heaped praise on President Xi, which we know for a fact happened because there’s video. Here’s part of it.
But about that Taiwan warning and about the alleged Chinese comment that the U.S. is in decline — the Chinese readout emphasizes that Xi warned President Trump that Taiwan is the most important issue in the China-U.S. relationship. The readout says if the issue is “handled poorly,” the two countries — meaning the U.S. and China — “will clash, pushing the entire China-U.S. relationship into a very dangerous situation.” In case it’s not clear, that is a politically charged warning. The White House readout does not mention Taiwan once. But later in the day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked about this warning, and he said the U.S.’s policy on Taiwan has not changed.
Lastly, about the alleged “U.S. in decline” comment. The fact is those words do not appear once in the Chinese readout. President Xi did not say that. What he said, according to the readout, is that the United States and China should be careful not to fall into the “Thucydides Trap.” That’s a concept dating back to the Greeks where a country starts to become more powerful and threatens to overtake the world’s current top power — which often ends in war. In Xi’s example, China would be the challenging country and the United States would be the existing power.
But it seems that President Trump interpreted that concept as President Xi saying the U.S. was in decline. He posted to his social media page today saying, “When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden. President Xi was not referring to the incredible rise that the United States has displayed to the world during the 16 spectacular months of the Trump administration.”
Read the White House readout here.
Read the Chinese readout here.
Listen to the beginning of the Trump/Xi meeting here.
