In Beijing, Trump and Xi Pull the Trade War Back From the Brink

President Trump landed in Beijing this week for the first state visit to China by an American president in nearly a decade, and opened two days of talks with President Xi Jinping that both governments described, with unusual restraint, as constructive.

On trade, the choreography was the message. Mr. Xi told reporters that negotiations were 'making progress,' a phrase chosen to reassure markets without committing to specifics. Mr. Trump, for his part, played down the unresolved tariff fights over rare-earth minerals, advanced semiconductors and electric-vehicle subsidies — issues that, as recently as the autumn, were the surface of an active trade war.

On Taiwan, the tone shifted. According to Chinese state media, Mr. Xi warned his counterpart that 'clashes and even conflicts' could follow if the question is not 'handled properly.' The American readout of the meeting did not mention Taiwan at all — itself a diplomatic statement.

Around the summit's edges, two other files complicated the picture: the war in Iran, where Beijing has hosted the Iranian foreign minister within the past fortnight, and the expected meeting between Mr. Xi and President Vladimir Putin in the days after Mr. Trump departs. Each is a reminder that the United States and China are no longer negotiating only with each other.

Wall Street took the meeting, on its first day, as net positive. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at fresh highs, with the rally led by chip names cleared to resume defined sales into the Chinese market. Whether that optimism survives the second day's communiqué — and the absence in it of any concrete language on Taiwan — is the question Friday will answer.