US-China relations

Putin travels to China – just days after Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin is traveling to China next week to meet Xi Jinping, according to the Kremlin, TT reports. He is expected to make the visit between May 19 and 20, which is just days after Donald Trump visited the country.

The statement says that the two presidents will talk about the “comprehensive partnership and how the strategic cooperation” between the two countries can be further strengthened.

After the China Summit: Trump Warns Taiwan About Independence

Donald Trump is warning Taiwan about declaring independence, he says in an interview with Fox News. The statement comes after the US president recently visited Chinese President Xi Jinping.

– I am not looking for anyone to become independent. And, you know, we would have to travel 15,000 kilometers to fight a war. I don't want that to happen, he says.

Xi has previously warned the US against "misbehaving" on the issue of Taiwan, and that it would lead to a "very dangerous situation". This is because the US has previously shown its support for Taiwan and that it would provide military support in the event of a possible attack, writes TT.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry has responded that it is a "sovereign and independent democratic nation" after Trump's statement.

Analysis: Passive Trump was forced to return from China empty-handed

Donald Trump has returned from China and it is time to sum up the largest summit of the year so far. In many media it is being portrayed as a disappointment.

The meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping did not contain any talks about tariffs and did not bring any clarity on the issue of rare earth metals. Despite the fact that the cream of the US business community was on the trip, the meeting did not result in any major trade deals apart from China’s purchase of 200 Boeing planes – which were significantly fewer than expected, writes The Independent.

The New York Times writes that Trump “stuck to the script” and did his utmost to be polite to Xi. That is understandable, but it also makes him appear weak when Xi took the opportunity to issue a sharp warning about Taiwan, says former US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.

The newspaper has also spoken to Chinese security researcher Da Wei, who sees the meeting as a success for China.

“The US delegation looked unprepared and passive,” he says.

China researcher Jessica Chen Weiss also views Xi’s rhetoric on Taiwan with concern but adds that Trump has created “breathing space” in the relationship between the US and China. The fact that the meeting did not lead to a breakthrough does not matter much, she writes in the Financial Times.

“A ‘cold peace’ is good enough.”