Speaking to CNBC-TV18 after the high-profile summit, Cheng said Beijing’s message on Taiwan was unusually sharp, even by Chinese standards, underlining how central the issue remains to China’s leadership.
“There’s no question that China cares a lot more about this issue than the US does,” Cheng said. “This is the most important issue, and this is something that will not be tolerated.”
Trump and Xi met at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People amid elaborate state ceremony, though the optics remained carefully controlled. There were handshakes and formal exchanges, but none of the warmth Trump had publicly joked about before the visit, when he said he hoped for a “big fat hug” from Xi.
Instead, the Chinese side used the summit to reiterate its hardening position on Taiwan. According to China’s foreign ministry readout, Xi warned that mishandling the issue could push ties into a “very dangerous situation” and potentially lead to a clash between the two countries.
Cheng said the substance of Xi’s remarks was not entirely new, but the tone was noticeably stronger this time.
“It wasn’t different in terms of the content of what Xi Jinping was saying to Donald Trump today, but it certainly was a little more pointed in highlighting the downsides and the potential catastrophic consequences,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal bureau chief added that such direct messaging at leader level carried particular significance given the fragile state of US-China ties and growing tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has repeatedly said reunification is non-negotiable. Beijing has also consistently opposed any moves that could be interpreted as support for Taiwanese independence.
The contrast in priorities between Washington and Beijing was also visible in the official statements released after the talks. While the Chinese readout focused heavily on Taiwan, the US version made no mention of the island. Instead, Washington highlighted discussions around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
The White House said both sides agreed Iran should never possess a nuclear weapon and noted China’s opposition to any militarisation or tolls in the Strait of Hormuz. However, China’s official statement omitted those details entirely.
Cheng said such differing versions of events are not unusual in US-China diplomacy, with both governments tending to emphasise their own priorities.
“It’s not that unusual for the US and China to put out statements that aren’t identical and aren’t completely aligned,” he said.
He added that while China has a strong economic interest in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open because of its dependence on imported oil, that does not necessarily mean Beijing is prepared to exert meaningful pressure on Iran.
“China is very good sometimes at saying, yes, we agree to such-and-such a principle, but whether or not they are willing to then put that into action with consequences is another question,” Cheng said.
Trump’s delegation to Beijing also reflected the growing overlap between geopolitics and technology competition. Executives including Elon Musk, Tim Cook and Jensen Huang accompanied the US President during the visit.
According to Cheng, the presence of leading American technology executives was both a “show of force” and a signal that major US companies still see enormous opportunity in China despite rising tensions over trade, chips and artificial intelligence.
“They obviously understand that China is the only other country, perhaps, that can stand toe-to-toe with the US when it comes to frontier technologies,” he said.
Despite the sharp differences on Taiwan and strategic rivalry, both sides indicated that engagement would continue. Trump invited Xi to visit Washington in September, although Beijing has not formally confirmed the trip.
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Cheng described the current diplomatic process as an “ongoing, rolling conversation” rather than an attempt to resolve every disagreement in a single summit.
“But certainly, for the purposes of stabilising international relations at a time when there’s so much conflict around the world, when there is so much uncertainty around AI and other technologies, perhaps it’s a good thing that you have the leaders of the two largest economies set to meet four times this year,” he said.
