politics
Trump and Xi Reach Boeing, Soybean and Agriculture Purchase Agreements at Beijing Summit
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up two days of meetings in Beijing on May 15, 2026. The talks produced agreements on Boeing aircraft purchases and agricultural products while Taiwan featured only in private warnings from Xi and ambiguous comments from Trump. U.S. officials said long-standing policy on the island remains unchanged.
May 16, 9:48 AM·2m read3 sources
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President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded two days of talks in Beijing on May 15, 2026, producing concrete trade commitments on Boeing aircraft, soybeans and broader American agricultural products. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Xi had agreed to an initial purchase of 200 Boeing planes, with the possibility of increasing to 750 aircraft.
A Boeing spokesperson confirmed the initial commitment for 200 aircraft and expectations of further commitments. Trump said China has agreed to buy “billions of dollars” of soybeans and that the U.S. expects China to buy tens of billions of dollars worth of American agricultural products per year over the next three years.
The White House readout of the meetings omitted any reference to Taiwan. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News that Taiwan did not feature primarily in the first day of Trump-Xi discussions on May 14. ” He added that Taiwan was not part of the discussion when he met with Xi in South Korea last fall.
Trump said the people of Taiwan should feel “neutral” about his visit to China and repeatedly urged restraint from both sides, stating, “Taiwan would be very smart to cool it a little bit.
Beijing’s official readout emphasized the benefits of cooperation and made no mention of Taiwan. Trump had previously said arms sales to Taiwan would be on the agenda. He is not committing to approving the latest round and has been delaying the latest round of arms sales for months, refusing to sign off on a record $14 billion package approved in January 2025.
The U.S. announced a record $11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan in December.
CEOs Elon Musk, Tim Cook and Jensen Huang traveled with President Trump to Beijing. The discussions also touched on Iran. Trump said he and Xi feel “very similar” in wanting the war with Iran to end and prohibiting Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He added, “I’m not asking for any favors, because when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return.”
