Trump Xi Summit Leaves Taiwan And Hormuz Questions – Experts

• David Sacks says Trump and Xi clearly discussed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
• Xi introduced “strategic stability” as a new frame for U.S.-China ties.
• China may try to delay or shrink a $14 billion Taiwan arms package.
• Jonathan Schroden says China cannot meaningfully help militarily in Hormuz.
• Sacks gives Xi the edge in terms of who gained more from the summit.

Trump Xi Summit Ends With Big Questions

Donald Trump left Beijing with pageantry, trade headlines and a claim that China could help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But the real result of the Trump Xi Summit may be far more complicated — and more dangerous. Behind the red carpets, marching soldiers and smiling photo ops, two pressure points dominated the meeting: Taiwan and the blocked oil route through the Strait of Hormuz. On both fronts, experts told America Report, Beijing may now have new leverage.

David Sacks, a Taiwan expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Trump’s comments aboard Air Force One after the summit were “very interesting” because they revealed more than the formal readouts from Beijing. Trump had said he still needed to “think about” a major U.S. weapons package for Taiwan. For Taipei, that comment raised alarms. For Beijing, it may have signaled an opening.

“Clearly President Trump and Xi Jinping had a conversation on arms sales to Taiwan,” Sacks told America Report.

“Clearly Xi Jinping made known his opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.”

That alone was not new. Chinese leaders routinely protest U.S. weapons sales to the democratic island, which Beijing claims as its own. But Sacks said Xi added a more important frame to the relationship: “strategic stability.” In Beijing’s reading, that phrase appears to link stable U.S.-China relations with American restraint on Taiwan. That could become the key takeaway of the summit.

Xi’s New Taiwan Pressure

Sacks said Xi’s use of “strategic stability” matters because it turns Taiwan into a test of whether Washington wants a cooperative relationship with Beijing. In other words, China may argue that if Trump wants Chinese help on trade, Iran, Hormuz or future diplomacy, he must handle Taiwan in a way Beijing considers acceptable. That does not necessarily mean an open policy shift. It could mean delays, smaller arms packages or quieter announcements.

“What’s interesting here is that Xi Jinping introduced a new framing for the relationship, what he refers to as strategic stability,” Sacks said.

“They very clearly believe that if the United States wants a stable relationship with China, if it wants Chinese cooperation on certain issues, then it has to handle its relationship with Taiwan in certain ways.”

A large U.S. arms package for Taiwan, reportedly worth around $14 billion, is now the central test. Sacks believes China may try to use Trump’s invitation for Xi to make a reciprocal visit in September as leverage. The message from Beijing, he said, could be simple: a giant Taiwan arms sale would not fit the spirit of the summit and could jeopardize the next meeting. That would put Trump in a difficult spot, especially if he wants to preserve the appearance of a new working relationship with Xi.

“President Trump invited Xi Jinping for a reciprocal visit in September,” Sacks said.

“I think the Chinese will very consistently and aggressively message that a major U.S. arms sale to Taiwan would make it not conducive to having that visit and could potentially jeopardize that visit.”

The $14 Billion Test

Sacks does not believe Beijing must kill the weapons package outright to score a win. China could seek to delay it, water it down or split it into smaller pieces. That would reduce the political shock in Beijing and avoid the headline China fears most: the largest U.S. arms sale to Taiwan in history. China already reacted sharply to a late-2025 package because it was advertised as the biggest ever. A $14 billion deal would surpass it.

“At the very least, they want that $14 billion arms sale broken up into smaller chunks and announced at various intervals,” Sacks said.

“I think China would view it as inconsistent with the spirit of this summit.”

“They’re going to make a big effort to delay that arms package through September and potentially through the rest of the year.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after the summit that U.S. policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged. Taiwan’s foreign ministry publicly welcomed that statement. Sacks said this likely means Washington did not change its formal declaratory policy, which would have been a major concession to Beijing. China had been signaling for months that it wanted Trump to say the United States “opposes” Taiwan independence, rather than the longstanding U.S. formula that Washington “does not support” Taiwan independence.

“I think it would have been a big mistake to change U.S. declaratory policy in Beijing,” Sacks said.

But the arms sale now becomes the real indicator. If Trump approves the package in full, Taiwan can breathe easier. If he delays or reduces it, critics will ask whether Beijing extracted an unwritten concession. That is why Sacks sees the package as a decisive signal for the future of U.S.-Taiwan policy under Trump.

“If that arms sale is delayed or watered down in any meaningful way, then that would give the impression that there was some kind of quid pro quo in Beijing,” Sacks warned.

Hormuz: Can China Really Help?

Trump also left Beijing suggesting Xi could help with the Strait of Hormuz crisis. The waterway remains one of the world’s most dangerous oil choke points after the Iran war disrupted shipping through the Gulf. Trump said Xi offered help and suggested China had a strong interest in reopening the route because of its heavy reliance on Gulf energy. That gave Trump a talking point. But it also underlined how much he may need Xi on one of the biggest economic threats facing his presidency.

Jonathan Schroden, a security expert, warned that China’s useful role in Hormuz would not be military. Beijing does not have the naval capacity in the region to clear the route or secure commercial passage in a major way. Its real value would be diplomatic, through its relationship with Tehran and its ability to pressure Iran toward cooperation.

“China does not have the naval capabilities to provide meaningful assistance of that type in the Strait of Hormuz,” Schroden told America Report.

“The best thing China could do to help with that situation would be to use its diplomatic relationship and associated leverage to convince Iran to cooperate with the U.S. or other nations to clear the Strait of mines.”

Schroden said the goal would be to make Hormuz “once again open to free commercial passage” as part of a negotiated settlement to end the war. That creates a delicate political equation for Trump. If China helps unlock Iran, Xi gains global prestige. If China does not help, Trump remains trapped by high oil prices, blocked shipping and growing domestic pressure before the midterms.

Who Looked Stronger?

Sacks said both leaders got something from the Trump Xi Summit. Trump got the spectacle he likes. He got days of global attention, a high-profile Boeing order to tout and agricultural purchases he can sell to his base. He also got images of American CEOs standing with his delegation in Beijing, which helped him frame the trip as a business mission for U.S. jobs and farmers.

“President Trump clearly loves the pageantry and the symbolism,” Sacks said.

“He loved that everybody was riveted by the summit for three days.”

But Sacks gives the edge to Xi. The Chinese leader hosted Trump as a peer, framed the relationship through his own concept of “strategic stability” and emerged as a leader whom Washington may need on Iran, Hormuz and global economic stability. For Beijing, that is a powerful image: China as an equal superpower, not a junior rival.

“Xi Jinping largely got what he wanted too, which is that he is now perceived in the United States and internationally as being on equal footing to the United States,” Sacks said.

“The very fact that Xi Jinping is hosting the American president as a peer, as an equal, that he’s defining the very nature of the U.S.-China relationship, I think shows him to be a very powerful figure.”

His verdict was clear.

“I would give the edge to Xi Jinping in terms of who got more out of the summit.”

A Stronger China Message

The timing also helps Xi. Sacks noted that the Chinese leader is expected to host Vladimir Putin soon after Trump’s visit. That allows Xi to stand at the center of rival power blocs: talking trade with Trump, warning on Taiwan, offering possible leverage on Iran and then welcoming Putin. It strengthens Beijing’s message that China is no longer merely reacting to American power. It is helping define the next global order.

Trump, meanwhile, returns home with unresolved problems. Taiwan is watching whether he delays the arms package. Oil markets are watching whether Hormuz reopens. Republicans are watching gas prices. Democrats are watching for any sign that Trump gave China too much. The summit produced big images and big claims, but the real tests are still ahead.

Will Trump approve the Taiwan arms package in full? Will China actually pressure Iran? Will Hormuz reopen? And will Xi’s idea of “strategic stability” become a tool to restrain U.S. support for Taiwan? For now, Xi appears to have walked away with the stronger strategic hand. Trump got the show. Xi may have gained the leverage.