Both President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping described their meeting last week — the first U.S. presidential visit to China in more than a decade — in positive terms, but the discussion between the two superpower leaders yielded few significant breakthroughs.

“We have achieved many cooperative outcomes,” Xi said of the summit, touting progress made on trade and economic agreements and stating that he and Trump “have established a new bilateral relationship — a constructive strategic stable relationship — which constitutes a milestone event.” Meanwhile, the Trump administration boasted that China had agreed to assist with the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, with Chinese authorities laying particular emphasis on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage for transporting oil. Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, also confirmed that the U.S. is preparing to streamline Chinese investment processes and ease tariffs levied against some Chinese products.

Trump also reported that he had brought up the prospect of freeing Catholic media magnate Jimmy Lai, who has been a political prisoner since 2020 and was controversially convicted in December of sedition and foreign collusion due to his anti-totalitarian political activism. While the American president said that Xi was “giving very serious consideration” to releasing Zion Church founder Pastor Jin Mingri, he said that Li’s release would be “a tough one” to secure. Xi “went through a whole thing, and I said, ‘Well, we’d appreciate if you would release him. He’s gotten old, and he’s probably not feeling too well. It would be nice,’” Trump said. “And I did not feel optimistic. I have to be honest with you about that one,” he added, noting that Xi’s reaction to the possibility of freeing Lai “was not positive.”

Lai was originally imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2020 following anti-totalitarianism demonstrations in 2019 and 2020, which the Chinese government accused Lai of funding and orchestrating, although he was charged at the time with fraud. He was convicted twice on charges of unlawful assembly and sentenced to more than four years in prison. In 2022, the CCP also convicted him on charges of fraud, sentencing Lai to nearly six more years in prison and fining him. The 2025 conviction carried with it a sentence of 20 years in prison for the 78-year-old Lai.

Another issue of contention at the U.S.-China summit was Taiwan, with Xi warning Trump of potential “clashes” between the U.S. and China over the issue. Subsequently, the Trump administration signaled that it would end arms sales to Taiwan, in a move that Trump touted as “a very good negotiating chip for us.” The president also urged both China and Taiwan to “cool down” the simmering hostility between the two countries. “I’m not looking to have somebody go independent,” Trump said. “We’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down.”

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer noted in an interview over the weekend that past presidents have similarly used arms sales to Taiwan as a “negotiating chip” with China. “Well, just remember, the United States has sold arms to Taiwan for many years. It’s also had many times when it didn’t sell them,” Greer said, citing the examples of presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. “Right now, the president is considering how to move forward on that. The reality is, it’s really important for the United States and China to have a stable relationship. These are two important economies,” he observed. “The issue of Taiwan arms sales is something the Chinese always raise. So the president is considering how to approach that.”

Greer stressed that “there’s no change in American policy on Taiwan. There’s no change there. We expect that situation to be stable. And if President Xi is going to change that, then, obviously, that’s something that would be taken into account.” He added that Trump is “very focused on making sure that nothing happens there. This is why, when he talked to the media afterwards, he said, I made no commitments to President Xi on Taiwan, and the president will keep his own counsel on the arm sales and when and if that happens.”

Appearing on “Washington Watch” on Friday night, Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Robert Maginnis, a senior fellow for National Security at Family Research Council, emphasized the importance of Taiwan in negotiations with China. “President Xi didn’t hold anything back when he talked about Taiwan, and it’s because it’s a red line for the Chinese Communist Party. The regime depends upon eventually taking back what they call a breakaway province of Taiwan,” Maginnis explained. He also noted that Taiwan is a significant issue for the U.S.

“First of all, Taiwan produces maybe 80%-90% of the world’s advanced semiconductors. Those semiconductors are in your cell phones, they really are the heart of artificial intelligence, they make up the brains of military systems that we depend upon, communication systems, and the like,” the national security analyst said. “The second issue is that Taiwan is really the anchor for what we call the first island chain, which is a defensive line between us, our West Coast, and China mainland,” Maginnis observed. “So if that were to fall, clearly, into Chinese hands, then it would alter the balance of power in the entire Asian arena and it would destabilize perhaps Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and even possibly Australia.”

The U.S. already approved a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan late last year, but Maginnis noted that Trump has the authority to halt the sale, which, “if he does, that will send a very clear message that there was something done behind the scenes at this summit, because up until now it looked like that was going to happen.” He continued, “I would also watch for the rhetoric that comes from the State Department with regard to Taiwan.” Maginnis warned, “Any indication that we’re backing out of our alliance or our relationship with the people in Taiwan would be a good indicator that Beijing has really pressed the president on this issue.” He added, “You know, the president doesn’t want to push along that red line that Xi drew in the sand there at Tiananmen Square.”