Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday outlined what he described as a “new positioning” for relations between China and the United States following high-level talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing.

According to a statement released by China’s foreign ministry, Xi said both leaders agreed that ties between the world’s two largest economies should move towards a more constructive and strategically stable framework over the coming years.

Xi described the future relationship as one built mainly on cooperation, while accepting that competition between the two countries would continue within controlled limits.

Xi Pushes Stable Long-Term Framework

The Chinese leader said the two sides should pursue what he called “normal stability”, where disagreements remain manageable, and “lasting stability”, where peace remains achievable despite strategic rivalry.

The remarks reflected Beijing’s attempt to present the summit as a step towards reducing tensions after years of trade disputes, technology restrictions and geopolitical friction.

Xi also called for broader cooperation across several sectors, including trade, healthcare, agriculture, tourism, law enforcement and people-to-people exchanges.

The summit between Trump and Xi comes at a sensitive time for both countries, with Washington and Beijing attempting to preserve a fragile trade truce reached last year while also managing tensions over Taiwan, technology restrictions and global security issues.

Taiwan Remains The Most Sensitive Issue

Even while emphasising cooperation, Xi issued a strong warning over Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by China.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry’s readout, Xi urged the United States to exercise “utmost caution” in handling Taiwan-related matters.

“If handled poorly, the two countries could collide or even enter into conflict, pushing the entire China-U.S. relationship into an extremely dangerous situation,” Xi said.

Taiwan remains one of the most contentious issues between Washington and Beijing.

China views the island as part of its territory and has repeatedly opposed U.S. arms sales and political engagement with Taipei. The United States, while not formally recognising Taiwan diplomatically, remains its most important security partner and is legally obligated to help the island maintain defensive capabilities.

Summit Focused On Trade And Global Stability

The Trump-Xi summit also focused heavily on trade and economic cooperation.

Both sides are attempting to maintain the trade truce agreed last October, which paused escalating tariffs and eased tensions around critical exports such as rare earth minerals.

Trump travelled to Beijing alongside several top American business leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, as Washington pushes for expanded access to China’s market.

Beyond economics, the leaders also discussed global security issues, including the ongoing Iran conflict and tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Beijing summit is expected to shape the direction of U.S.-China relations ahead of a possible reciprocal visit by Xi to the United States later this year.

(with inputs from Reuters)