Beijing knows President Donald Trump likes the red carpet rolled out for him — and China certainly delivered on Day 1 of the high-stakes summit.

Trump was greeted with all the pomp and circumstance: an elaborate military ceremony, friendly rhetoric and both leaders speaking about shared cooperation and the long history of U.S.-China ties.

Trump even called it an “honor” to be a friend to Chinese President Xi Jinping, calling him a “great leader.” A White House official said that Trump and Xi had a “good meeting.”

Here are some key takeaways.

Taiwan

Beneath all the platitudes, there are still some simmering tensions.

Xi delivered a stark warning on Taiwan — that if the issue is handled “improperly,” it could lead to “conflict.”

Beijing considers its island neighbor a breakaway province run by a separatist government that must be “re-unified” with the Chinese state. The U.S. has long advocated for a status quo policy in which China does not make advances on Taiwan’s independence and the U.S. does not recognize its statehood.

The real question hanging over this summit: will China use what Trump wants on Iran and other issues to extract concessions? The concern among some in the national security space is that Xi will press for reduced U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, or seek language from Washington outright opposing Taiwan independence. 

Iran war

The Trump administration says it came to China wanting Beijing to use its influence over Tehran to help end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply is caught in the crosshairs of the conflict.

“It’s in their interest to resolve this. We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a pre-taped interview on Fox News that aired before the bilateral meeting.

The White House readout of the Trump-Xi meting mentioned the two sides agreed the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. 

But the Chinese readout of the meeting didn’t mention Iran’s nuclear program or the strait, saying only that the Middle East was discussed. That tracks with what experts have told ABC News: Beijing doesn’t want to get pulled in too deep and they see this war as America’s problem to solve. 

The White House’s readout

The White House readout was largely what was expected — economic cooperation, expanding access for American businesses in China, increased Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products and continued pressure on fentanyl flows.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two sides will discuss forming a board of trade and board of investment to manage bilateral trade and investment in non-sensitive areas. 

Bessent also said the two leaders will talk about artificial intelligence.

“The two AI superpowers are going to start talking, we’re going to set up a protocol in terms of how do we go forward with best practices for AI to make sure non-state actors don’t get ahold of these models,” Bessent said. 

Bottom line

Beijing has been showcasing itself as an equal power standing alongside the United States on the world stage.

Chinese state media is already portraying this visit as a major diplomatic victory for China. Some commentary in China is framing this trip as proof that Trump needs China more than China needs Trump, pointing out how Trump has been weakened by the war in Iran amid low polling numbers.