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Trump warns Xi against China helping Iran (Img: X/WhiteHouse)
Washington: US President Donald Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping that any assistance from Beijing to Iran was "totally unacceptable", according to US Ambassador to China David Perdue, who described the issue as a recurring subject in US-China discussions.
Speaking to CNBC on Friday, Perdue said Trump had raised the matter again during his meeting with Xi at the White House on Thursday. The warning comes amid continuing tensions involving Iran and the wider Middle East.
"We made it very clear to them weeks ago that, you know, any help that they would give Iran, whether it be direct or indirect, whether it be intelligence or parts or military equipment, was totally unacceptable. President Trump made that very clear again yesterday. This is an ongoing drumbeat," said Perdue said in a CNBC interview.
Perdue also described the Trump-Xi discussions as candid, saying the two leaders were developing a relationship while continuing to work through difficult issues between their countries.
"These two leaders are beginning to develop a relationship of somewhat trust and also working on the issues. I mean, this was a very candid and open conversation, and every time they talk, I think we see a different level of intimacy about these difficult issues that we're dealing with," he added.
The comments came during Xi's three-day state visit to Washington at Trump's invitation. The visit was aimed at maintaining stability in relations between the world's two largest economies.
Trump and Xi held a 90-minute closed-door meeting on Thursday, with discussions covering the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, according to China's official readout.
The meeting also came against the backdrop of unresolved issues between Washington and Beijing, including trade and artificial intelligence. Reuters reported that Thursday's summit produced no major breakthroughs, despite the extensive ceremonial programme surrounding Xi's visit.
Trump later described the meeting as "productive" in a social media post and highlighted artificial intelligence, saying:
"Tremendous things will be happening. Like almost everyone else, he seemed to like calling the poorly and inaccurately named Artificial Intelligence to a far more accurate and important name, SUPER INTELLIGENCE. That would be “SUPER!” Everyone last night agreed, also."
Trump hosted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at a black-tie state dinner attended by prominent US technology executives and other business leaders. The dinner was part of an elaborate programme surrounding Xi's state visit.
Earlier, Trump gave Xi a tour of parts of the White House, including the Oval Office, a gallery of presidential portraits, the new helicopter landing pad and the ballroom under construction.
Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan separately visited the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art.
On Friday, Trump was scheduled to take Xi to the National Archives, where the US Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights are preserved. The visit comes as the US marks its 250th anniversary, with Trump seeking to showcase some of the country's historic landmarks to the Chinese leader.
Xi's visit also coincides with China's Mid-Autumn Festival, a major family holiday.
While the state visit has featured extensive ceremonial engagements, substantive issues between Washington and Beijing remain under discussion. Trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and other strategic matters continue to form part of the broader US-China relationship.
The summit therefore combined high-profile diplomatic gestures with negotiations over issues that remain unresolved between the two countries.
