Trump Unloads on Taiwan and Trade After Beijing Visit

BEIJING: For three days in China, President Donald Trump was unusually quiet, not speaking to reporters much and even mostly staying off social media. Then he got on his plane home and unloaded. Trump's trip was unexpectedly dominated by discussions about Taiwan and the notion that Washington and Beijing could adopt a new framework for managing their complicated relationship. Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off the whirlwind visit with a warning: If Washington mishandles its relations with the self-governing island of Taiwan, the U.S. and China could end up clashing or even in open conflict. Trump did not respond publicly, refraining from mentioning Taiwan while in Beijing. But he suggested aboard Air Force One on his way home that Xi's staunch opposition might make him rethink a planned U.S. arms sale to Taipei. Among the other topics of discussion were trade and the U.S. and Israel's war in Iran, which had been expected to take up most of the attention. Trump spent the trip overtly flattering China's leader, despite Xi not reciprocating. And the president did not push back publicly on China's characterization that he and Xi had agreed to a "constructive" new vision for dealing with their relationship issues.