Trump returns from China, trade and Taiwan tensions deepen

President Trump’s China trip left Washington staring at two pressures at once: how much leverage the White House could claim on trade, and how much reassurance it could give Taiwan as tensions rose in the Indo-Pacific. That mix defined the guest list for this week’s Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, which featured U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Taiwan’s representative to the United States, Alexander Tah-Ray Yui, and CBS News election and survey chief Anthony Salvanto.

The timing was deliberate. Trump and Xi Jinping wrapped talks in Beijing on May 15, and CBS News reported that the two leaders discussed trade, Taiwan and Iran. Trump said Friday that he and Xi had made “fantastic trade deals” and shared a desire to end the U.S.-Iran conflict, but the public optimism sat alongside sharper warnings from Beijing. Chinese state media said Xi cautioned Trump about potential “clashes and even conflicts” if Taiwan was not handled properly.

That warning hung over the administration as it returned from the summit. CBS News reported uncertainty remained over a potential $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan, a reminder that trade bargaining and security commitments were moving in parallel, not separately. The appearance of Yui on the same program as Greer underscored how the administration’s economic message could not be separated from the strategic question of whether Washington would keep bolstering Taiwan’s defenses.

Greer brought his own policy weight to the exchange. He was confirmed by the Senate on February 27, 2025, as the 20th U.S. Trade Representative, and has cast his portfolio around an America First trade agenda. His role made him the administration’s chief interpreter of what the summit could deliver on tariffs, market access and broader trade leverage, even as the White House tried to avoid signaling weakness on China.

Yui, who has served as Taiwan’s representative to the United States since December 2023, represented the other side of the same calculation: how to keep Taiwan’s position clear without forcing a direct rupture with Beijing. Salvanto added a domestic layer to the broadcast with the latest CBS News polling on the economy, a useful backdrop as voters continue to judge foreign policy through inflation, growth and the risk of a more expensive standoff with China.