This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account. Unrivalled Xi-Trump summit analysis: get real-time updates and exclusive boots-on-the-ground reporting from our US and China bureaus all year round. Subscribe now with great savings to stay ahead. After three days in Washington, President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan returned to China with a promise of more face-to-face diplomacy with US President Donald Trump later this year, but not a...

Taiwanese officials and observers have reacted cautiously to the Washington summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, with uncertainty lingering over what the two leaders discussed about the island. The only public mention of Taiwan after Thursday’s closed-door talks between the pair came from Beijing’s official statement, which said Xi had urged Trump to “oppose ‘Taiwan independence’” and “handle the Taiwan question with caution”. The White House did not immediately give its own detailed...

Amid the polished silverware and fine crystal stemware on display at the state dinner in the White House on Thursday sat the vacuum flasks brought by Chinese President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan. The couple’s flasks, black for Xi and white for Peng, were spotted on their table during the formal dinner, signalling a subtle self-assurance as cultural authenticity met high diplomacy. Extending this everyday practice to the White House banquet was in tune with the host nation’s own...