On May 14, US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a bilateral summit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. It was Trump’s first visit to China since 2017. It was also the first time since 2001 that a US president visited China without stopping at the capital of at least one US ally in the region, whether Japan, South Korea or Australia.
Both sides agreed on the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, and Beijing reaffirmed its hawkish stance toward Taiwan. By comparison, neither Trump nor Xi have made public mention of North Korea, suggesting that Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons are no longer a pressing item on Washington and Beijing’s agenda.
The United States considered the first day of negotiations positive, citing the progress made in the areas of economic and energy cooperation. According to the White HouseXi ‘expressed interest in purchasing more US oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait’ [of Hormuz]” and both sides agreed to work toward deeper trade engagement.
Touting Xi as a “great leader,” Trump called the meeting “the greatest summit ever” and said relations between China and the United States “will be better than ever.”
XI offered a more cautious tone and discussed one of the most famous international relations theories – the Thucydides Trap, which posits that a rising power and a declining power are likely to go to war. “Can we tackle global challenges together and bring greater stability to the world? » Xi asked Trump.
However, despite his gestures towards Trump to cooperate in various areas, Xi clearly showed the red line that Trump cannot cross during the meeting.
“Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the greatest common denominator between China and the United States,” Xi said in the statement. job by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If the Taiwan issue is poorly handled, “the two countries will experience clashes and even conflicts, putting their entire relations in great danger,” according to Xi.
Trump did not publicly respond to questions about Taiwan after the summit, and the White House made no mention of the topic in its statements.
According to Chinese state media, the two leaders also discussed the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, although no details of those discussions were reported.
For South Korea, the summit between Trump and Xi changed little but it clarified the pressures Seoul now faces.
Regarding Taiwan, Seoul has long relied on strategic ambiguity, as it does not support Beijing’s territorial claims and does not explicitly commit to playing a role in any eventuality involving the island. This posture has held, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain as Washington demonstrates less tolerance for equivocations among its allies. If the Trump administration were to press Seoul for a clearer political alignment or seek operational flexibility for U.S. forces in Korea in a cross-Strait scenario, South Korea would face a choice with no clear answer.
Sino-US talks over the Strait of Hormuz have created a more immediate pressure point. South Korea is one of the world’s largest importers of Middle Eastern oil, and the Sino-US consensus in favor of keeping the strait open serves South Korea’s economic interests. However, the same alignment could accelerate Washington’s efforts for South Korea to provide a military contribution to the multinational mission to secure the waterway.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the request explicitly during his meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back. at the Pentagon on May 11calling on Seoul to stand with its allies. Ahn said South Korea would consider ways to contribute in stages. With the United States and China now publicly aligned on Hormuz, Seoul’s room to stay away has narrowed.
The Korean Peninsula itself has received little attention, which is another concern for Seoul. The White House made no mention of it while Chinese state media simply noted that the two leaders discussed the issue. For the Lee administration, which has expressed interest in resuming the stalled inter-Korean dialogue, the silence has real consequences because it strongly implies that the North’s growing nuclear threats are no longer a priority for Washington and Beijing. Any meaningful engagement with Pyongyang requires at a minimum tacit support from Washington and Beijing, but the Trump-Xi summit gave no indication that either is inclined to provide that support.
Some analysts had hoped that Trump’s offer to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would lead to discussions on the sidelines of his visit to Beijing, but no such sign was detected.
Therefore, the summit between Trump and Xi clearly showed the future scenario that Seoul must manage: aligning with Washington on Taiwan while looking for ways not to damage ties with Beijing. It will also be a major task for Seoul to build momentum to revive stalled U.S.-North Korea negotiations, as well as inter-Korean dialogue, at a time when U.S. and Chinese leaders are paying little attention to the Korean Peninsula.