When Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Donald Trump during the U.S. president's state visit to China last week, Taiwan dominated the conversation. When Xi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin just days later, the island was never mentioned. According to CNBC, analysts say the contrast was deliberate and revealing.
Xi described Taiwan as "the most important issue in China-U.S. relations" during the Trump visit and warned that mishandling the matter would put the relationship between the two superpowers in "great jeopardy." He went further, cautioning that U.S. interference in Taiwan could create a flashpoint for "clashes and even conflicts" between the two countries and appeared to link the economic stability of both nations to the issue.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and central to its national sovereignty. Taiwan's ruling party rejects that claim. The United States acknowledges China's position but maintains strong ties with Taipei and has previously committed to supplying Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
Analysts told CNBC that Xi's comments were largely aimed at convincing the Trump administration to delay or cancel a pending U.S. arms sale package to Taiwan worth $14 billion. Melanie Hart, senior director of the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub, said in online analysis: "Chinese leaders view these arms sales as a major irritant. If Taiwan did not receive U.S. defense support, then it would be much easier for China to take the island by force. Hence Xi's attempt to lobby Trump for inaction on the pending $14 billion package."
Whether the warnings had any effect on the White House is unclear. Trump said last week that he had refused to directly answer Xi when asked whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan against a Chinese military move.
The absence of Taiwan from the Xi-Putin meeting stood in sharp contrast to its prominence the week before. Max Hess, founder of political risk consultancy Enmetena Advisory, told CNBC the omission was calculated. "Xi does not want to have the Taiwan issue, and China's claims that Taiwan is rightfully its territory, to be conflated with Russia's irredentism and claims, and war, on Ukrainian territory," he said. "That would make China seem far more belligerent."
Hess added that "China has recognized Ukraine and its borders many times in the past, it has never recognized Taiwan's independence," drawing a line between how Beijing approaches the two territorial disputes publicly.
The two bilateral meetings also differed significantly in tone. The Trump encounter was described as filled with pomp and pageantry, with Beijing using the setting to project Chinese power and history. The Putin meeting was a far more relaxed affair, with the two leaders reinforcing what have become close strategic ties.
The back-to-back summits offered a window into how China is managing two very different relationships simultaneously, one defined by deep economic interdependence and rising strategic competition, and another built on a partnership of convenience against Western influence.
