00:00The first day of talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping
00:05have wrapped up in Beijing. Analyst Elena Noir of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
00:10says trade and business interests are taking priority over geopolitical disputes during the
00:16visit. China has kept a very muted approach towards the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz
00:25and China doesn't really have a whole lot at stake in terms of its oil and gas reserves, right?
00:35And so there's no reason for it to overtly wade into the conflict, strategically speaking.
00:44It's really important to note that I think that the tone that is setting the stage for this meeting
00:50between Trump and Xi this time is more on the bilateral level. Both leaders have indicated
00:56that they want greater market access. The U.S. is interested in gaining more access for its
01:02businesses and it's no coincidence that a lot of high-profile business leaders have been accompanying
01:07Trump on this visit. And Washington is also interested in increased Chinese investment
01:13in to the U.S. And so anything that's going to upset that tone is not going to go favourably
01:21for
01:21either China or the U.S. Taiwan remains a key issue in U.S.-China relations but Elena says it is
01:28unlikely
01:29to dominate this round of talks. We haven't yet heard very much from Washington on where it stands with
01:37Taiwan. There were expectations, I think, in the U.S. that Trump may or may not go one step further
01:44in opposing independence for Taiwan as opposed to the traditional Washington view of not supporting
01:53independence for Taiwan. So there's a difference between like a more active support and a more
01:58passive one. Nothing has been said as far as I know from Trump on this matter. That said,
02:06there is the state banquet that's happening. I don't foresee, though, any serious conversation
02:11about Taiwan happening tonight. Tomorrow, there is another working lunch. But I expect that
02:17most of that working lunch will be taken up by trade and commerce talks.
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