US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have wrapped up their second summit in six months with agreements on trade, AI dialogue and crisis communications — but deep disagreements over Taiwan and regional security remain unresolved. Washington emphasized economic deliverables, while Beijing highlighted political understandings and said Xi again pressed the United States to oppose Taiwan independence. Trump, meanwhile, said Taiwan barely came up, leaving questions over whether Beijing gained any leverage on delayed US arms sales to the island. Japan is also watching closely, with Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae speaking with Trump both before and after Xi’s visit as Tokyo weighs what closer US-China coordination could mean for its own security. In this episode, we examine what the summit actually achieved, whether repeated Trump-Xi meetings can produce lasting strategic stability and what the outcome means for Taiwan, Japan and the wider Indo-Pacific.
*Recorded on September 29, 2026 at 4:45pm Taiwan Standard Time
Host: Rath Wang
Producer: Miguel Yang
Videographer: Damon Lin
Our guests:
Stephen Tan
- International Policy Advisory Group (Taiwan) Managing Director
Courtney Donovan Smith
- Political Analyst Specializing in Taiwanese Politics and Geopolitics
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