STORY: :: Trump says he and Xi talked about China buying Boeing jets and selling arms to Taiwan

:: May 15, 2026

"President Xi is an incredible guy. We got along, made a lot of great trade deals, including over 200 planes from Boeing with a promise of 750 planes, which will be by far the largest order ever if they do a good job with the 200, which I'm sure they will. And that's General Electric also, the engines. So they're buying General Electric. So it's approximately 400, 450 engines, 200 planes, and a promise of up to 750 if they do a good job." 

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"On Taiwan, he feels very strongly. I made no commitment either way. We'll see what happens. (REPORTER ASKING: WHAT ABOUT THE ARMS SALES TO TAIWAN?) TRUMP RESPONDING: I'll make a determination over the next fairly short period. I'm going to make a determination. I'm going to see. I have to speak to the person that right now as you know, you know who he is, that's running Taiwan."

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REPORTER ASKING: "Sir, would you consider lifting the sanctions on Chinese oil companies that buy Iranian oil?"

TRUMP: "Well, we talked about that and I'm going to make a decision over the next few days. We did talk about it."

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp were among the group of American executives who accompanied Trump to China in hopes of clinching deals or resolving business disputes. It would also be much-needed win for Trump, whose aggressive tariffs and other trade policies have so far failed to make much of a dent in the large U.S. trade deficit.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has long opposed U.S. weapons sales to the island, which Beijing sees as interference in its internal affairs. The United States, despite lacking formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, remains Taiwan's most important international backer and largest supplier of arms.

The U.S. recently imposed sanctions on several Chinese oil refiners for buying Iranian oil, including Hengli Petrochemical, one of the country's largest private refiners and a symbol of Beijing's drive to modernize and upgrade the industry.