US President Donald Trump on 16 May revealed that he held wide-ranging discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping spanning Taiwan, artificial intelligence, Iran, trade, cyber operations, and nuclear arms reduction — describing the engagement as “very historic” and signalling a potential easing of tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Trump made the remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One while travelling to Anchorage, Alaska, repeatedly praising Xi and saying the two leaders had developed “a very good understanding” on several major geopolitical issues.

Taiwan at the Centre of Talks

The Taiwan question reportedly dominated much of the conversation. According to Trump, Xi expressed firm opposition to any move toward Taiwanese independence, warning that such a development would trigger a serious confrontation.

“President Xi and I talked a lot about Taiwan,” Trump said. “On Taiwan, he does not want to see a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation.”

Xi also directly raised concerns about US arms sales to the island and asked whether Washington would militarily defend Taiwan in the event of a conflict. Trump said he declined to answer that question directly. “He asked me if I’d defend them. I said, I don’t talk about that,” the President told reporters. Trump added that a decision on future arms sales to Taiwan would be made “over the next fairly short period of time.”

AI Guardrails and Cyber Espionage

The two leaders also discussed cooperation on artificial intelligence safeguards. Trump indicated that both sides explored the possibility of working together to manage risks tied to biological, nuclear, and cyber threats arising from advanced AI systems.

“We talked about possibly working together for guardrails,” Trump said. “AI is fantastic. So many things can happen in terms of health and medicine and operations, everything, the military.”

On cyber operations, Trump acknowledged mutual espionage between the two nations in notably candid terms. “We spy like hell on them, too,” he said when responding to questions about Chinese espionage activities in the United States.

Trade Deal and Boeing Aircraft

On the trade front, Trump announced what he described as a major agreement involving China purchasing more than 200 Boeing aircraft, with a possible expansion to 750 planes. He also noted that the deal included purchases linked to General Electric aircraft engines. The announcement comes against the backdrop of ongoing US-China trade friction and follows recent tariff negotiations between the two governments.

Nuclear Arms and Iran

Trump said the leaders raised the concept of nuclear arms reduction involving China, Russia, and the United States. “We brought it up, the denuclearization,” Trump said. “The concept of that is something that would be very good.”

On Iran, Trump said Xi agreed that Tehran should not be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons. “He feels strongly they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. The convergence on Iran is notable given China’s historically cautious stance on Western-led pressure campaigns against Tehran.

Taken together, the disclosures suggest a potentially broader strategic engagement between Washington and Beijing, even as the two powers continue to compete across trade, technology, military influence, and the Indo-Pacific. Taiwan remains the most sensitive flashpoint in the relationship, and Trump’s deliberate ambiguity on arms sales and military defence commitments is likely to draw close scrutiny from both allies and adversaries.