Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a stark warning to President Donald Trump that Taiwan could trigger «clashes and even conflicts» between the world’s two superpowers, injecting a note of potential confrontation into an otherwise upbeat summit in Beijing.

«President Xi stressed to President Trump that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations. If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy,» Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said following the meeting.

The White House, however, downplayed the exchange, with a senior administration official telling Fox News Digital that «both sides reiterated their long-stated stance on the issue and everyone understands each other’s position.»

Trump struck a notably warm tone in his public remarks, predicting a «fantastic future together» and praising Xi as «a great leader» as the two leaders opened talks focused heavily on trade, investment and economic cooperation.

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«In fact, the longest relationship of our two countries that any president and president has had,» Trump said. «We’ve had a fantastic relationship. We’ve gotten along.»

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blasted Trump following the meeting, accusing him of failing to respond forcefully to Xi’s warning.

«Just hours in, and Xi Jinping has already threatened to, quote, collide or even clash, unquote, with the United States if we continue our support for Taiwan. Trump apparently didn’t say anything in response. He was just mute,» Schumer said. «For the sake of democracy and the stability of the global economy. Trump must not sell out Taiwan. Trump must also safeguard the interests of American workers, families and businesses.»

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The exchange underscores how Taiwan — long the most sensitive and potentially explosive issue in U.S.-China relations — is re-emerging as a central fault line, even as both sides seek to project stability and focus publicly on trade and economic cooperation.

Analysts had warned ahead of the summit that the best-case scenario for Taiwan would be for the issue to stay off the agenda entirely, amid concerns Beijing could try to extract concessions or shape U.S. policy language behind closed doors.

A U.S.-made MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile is launched during a live-fire exercise at the Chiupeng missile base in Pingtung County, Taiwan, on Aug. 20, 2024. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump himself had suggested before the summit that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan could come up during discussions with Xi. He told reporters earlier this week, «I’m going to have that discussion with President Xi.»

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That prospect alarmed some national security analysts, who warned against allowing Taiwan to become part of a broader U.S.-China negotiation over trade or other strategic issues.

«Taiwan needs to stay off the menu,» retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said during a media briefing ahead of the summit. «If they’re on the menu and it’s about foreign military sales, it’s bad. If it’s on the menu and it’s about some kind of reimagining our statements, that would be worse.»

Experts say even subtle shifts in wording could carry significant consequences. A change from the longstanding U.S. position that it «does not support» Taiwan independence to language stating it «opposes» it, for example, could be seized on by Beijing to bolster its claims over the self-governing island.

For decades, U.S. policy has walked a careful line — formally recognizing Beijing as the government of China under the «One China» policy, while maintaining unofficial relations with Taiwan and providing it with defensive weapons under the Taiwan Relations Act. Washington has also deliberately kept its military response ambiguous, a strategy known as «strategic ambiguity,» aimed at deterring both a Chinese invasion and a unilateral declaration of independence by Taiwan.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te inspects a live-fire shooting training exercise in Hsinchu County, Taiwan, on July 10, 2025. (Chiang Ying-ying/AP Photo)

After the summit, however, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to minimize the Taiwan portion of the talks, saying U.S. arms sales to Taiwan «did not feature prominently» in the discussions and insisting longstanding U.S. policy remained unchanged.

Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu reiterated Beijing’s longstanding position in a statement to Fox News Digital, calling Taiwan «an inalienable part of China’s territory» and warning that China would «never promise to renounce the use of force» against «Taiwan independence» separatist activities.

«The DPP authorities’ obstinate pursuit of their separatist agenda is the root cause undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,» Liu said.

Despite the tensions surrounding Taiwan, the public tone of the summit remained cordial, with both leaders emphasizing cooperation and economic ties.

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Xi told Trump that «China and the United States both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation,» adding that the two countries «should be partners, not rivals.»

Trump arrived in Beijing accompanied by a delegation of top American executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, underscoring the administration’s focus on trade and investment even as geopolitical tensions simmer beneath the surface.

El canciller cubano, Bruno Rodríguez, afirmó este jueves que desde la isla están «dispuestos a escuchar las características del ofrecimiento y la manera en que se materializaría» la oferta de 100 millones de dólares en «asistencia humanitaria directa al pueblo cubano» que reiteró EE.UU.

«Por primera vez, el gobierno de EE.UU. formaliza de manera pública, mediante un comunicado del Departamento de Estado, un ofrecimiento de ayuda a Cuba valorado en 100 millones de dólares», reconoció el jefe de la diplomacia cubana en sus redes sociales.

Rodríguez dijo que «estamos dispuestos a escuchar las características del ofrecimiento y la manera en que se materializaría», pero señaló que esperan, «sea libre de maniobras políticas e intentos de aprovechar las carencias y el dolor de un pueblo bajo asedio».

El Departamento de Estado de EE.UU. anunció en un comunicado este miércoles que reiteraba su oferta de 100 millones de dólares en «asistencia humanitaria directa al pueblo cubano, la cual sería distribuida en coordinación con la Iglesia Católica y otras organizaciones humanitarias independientes y confiables».

El comunicado señala que la decisión de recibir esa asistencia recae ahora en el Gobierno cubano, que debe elegir entre «aceptar la oferta o rechazar una ayuda vital y crucial» para la isla.

El jefe de la diplomacia cubana, calificó a su vez de «incongruencia la aparente generosidad de parte de quien somete al pueblo cubano a un castigo colectivo por medio de la guerra económica»; pero indicó que «el gobierno cubano no tiene como práctica rechazar ayuda extranjera».

Igualmente señaló que «sigue sin aclararse si será ayuda en efectivo o material, y si se destinará a las necesidades más urgentes del momento para el pueblo, como combustibles, alimentos y medicinas».

Aclaró que «tampoco (el Gobierno cubano) tiene inconvenientes en trabajar con la Iglesia Católica, con cuyo esfuerzo de cooperación tiene una experiencia larga y positiva de trabajo conjunto».

«La mejor ayuda que en este y en cualquier momento podría dar el gobierno de los EE.UU. al noble pueblo cubano es desescalar las medidas del bloqueo energético, económico, comercial y financiero, recrudecido como nunca antes en los últimos meses, lo cual afecta severamente a todos los sectores de la economía y sociedad cubana», reiteró Rodríguez.

El secretario de Estado de Estados Unidos, Marco Rubio, había insistido la pasada semana durante una rueda de prensa en su visita a Roma para reunirse con el papa León XIV, en que EE.UU. ha proporcionado «seis millones de dólares en ayuda humanitaria, distribuida por Cáritas, la agencia de la Iglesia católica».

En ese momento, dijo que la Administración del presidente de EE.UU. Donald Trump, estaba dispuesta a «hacer más» e informó que se habían «ofrecido al régimen 100 millones de dólares en ayuda humanitaria», pero señaló que hasta ahora el Gobierno cubano no había aceptado distribuirla.

Bruno Rodríguez, calificó esa oferta de «fábula» y dijo que «hace falta gran cinismo para pronunciar, sin vergüenza, una declaración de supuesta ayuda de modo tan mendaz».

EE.UU. presiona al gobierno de la isla desde enero pasado, para que introduzca reformas económicas y políticas. Como parte de esa escalada impuso un bloqueo petrolero que ha agudizado notablemente la crisis estructural que ya arrastraba el país; y sanciones reforzadas contra sectores vitales de la economía.

La oferta de ayuda, que el departamento de Estado reiteró el miércoles, está sobre la mesa desde hace tiempo en el marco de negociaciones debajo de la mesa, desde que Nicolás Maduro fue eyectado del poder en Venezuela, y todo apuntaba a que el siguiente en la lista podría ser Miguel Díaz Canel en La Habana.

Al partir a China, Donald Trump dijo que no habrá ataque a la isla (aunque en ocasiones lo sugirió) y por el contrario dijo que el país «está fundido, pide ayuda y hablaremos».

Medios estadounidenses han filtrado una supuesta lista de demandas de Washington a La Habana a cambio de la ayuda, con la economía y los presos políticos como prioridades, algo que Cuba rechaza.

Con información de agencias

A ship was seized off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) near the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday morning, the British military reported.

The ship was boarded and «taken by unauthorized personnel» while it was roughly 38 nautical miles northeast of the United Arab Emirates’ oil export terminal Fujairah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported Thursday.

UKMTO spotted the ship heading toward Iranian territorial waters after the seizure, it reported Thursday.

British authorities did not release information on who the ship belonged to or who seized it. Despite the lack of official corroboration, the BBC reported that the Honduras-flagged Hui Chuan was seized in the Strait on Thursday.

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Citing the risk-management company Vanguard, the BBC reported that the ship’s operators told Vanguard that the Hui Chuan was operating as a «floating armory» for ships in the Strait to defend themselves from pirates.

A container ship sits at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, as a motorboat passes in the foreground on May 2, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

At least two other ships have already been seized in the Strait of Hormuz since February.

IRAN SAYS ITS SMALL SUBS DEPLOYED TO STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS EXPERT EXPLAINS THREAT: ‘VULNERABLE TO DETECTION’

A cargo ship sails in the Persian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz on April 22, 2026. (AP Photo)

In April, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized the Panamanian-flagged MSC Francesca and the Epaminondes ships in the Strait.

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Fox News Digital contacted UKMTO and Vanguard for further information but did not immediately receive a response.