By Trevor Hunnicutt and Mei Mei Chu
Beijing — China’s President Xi Jinping warned US President Donald Trump on Thursday that mishandling the countries’ disagreements over Taiwan could push China-US relations into conflict as the two leaders met for a closely watched summit.
Xi’s remarks on Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by Beijing, came in a closed-door meeting of the leaders of the world’s two largest economies that ran more than two hours, China’s foreign ministry said.
They represented a stark — if not unprecedented — warning during a pomp-filled occasion that was otherwise friendly and relaxed, although the US summary of the talks made no mention of Taiwan.
According to Chinese state media Xinhua, Xi told Trump that if the Taiwan issue is not handled well, the two countries will clash or even come into conflict, pushing China-US relations into “a very dangerous place”.
