Zhu Feng, dean of Nanjing University’s School of International Studies, warns that the era when the three joint communiques set the terms of US-China relations may have come to an end. Zhu thinks it might be unrealistic to expect Beijing and Washington to reach a comprehensive political understanding on Taiwan.
Gross domestic product grew 1% in the three months through March from the previous quarter. That is well above the government’s advance estimate of a 0.3% contraction and the median forecast of 0.2%. The Ministry of Trade and Industry maintained its 2026 GDP growth forecast at 2-4%. It flagged risks in case of continued disruption to global energy supplies, renewed escalation of US tariff hikes and a sudden pullback in global AI-related capital spending.
The US-China board of trade was established following the summit between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. It is expected to manage bilateral trade across non-sensitive goods and discuss issues such as tariff reductions. The board's first task is to identify products worth around US$30 billion that could be subject to tariff reductions or elimination.
There was a lot of online censorship during the recent back-to-back summits of the Sino-American and Sino/Russian summits. Some of it was aimed at controlling online discourse by limiting search results to Chinese government websites and state-media outlets. There was a lack of substantive breakthroughs during the Xi-Trump summit, so Chinese social-media commentary focused on amusing details.
The Financial Times reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping reproached Japan's military buildup during his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Beijing on May 13-15. China's foreign ministry denies the report. Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have deteriorated over Japan's growing military spending and tensions around Taiwan.
A major diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran could signal sanctions relief for Iran. China is the primary buyer of Iranian oil. Washington is likely to loosen its grip on China’s Iranian oil imports as it needs Beijing's support in the peace talks with Iran.
GDP grew 6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of the year, beating the official advance estimate of 4.6 percent. The growth was driven by demand for AI chips. The trade ministry kept its 2026 growth outlook steady at between 2 and 4 percent.
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Lin Chia-lung delivered a speech at GLOBSEC Forum in Prague on May 21. He said Europe is pursuing rearmament and reindustrialization to strengthen security resilience. Lin also met with Pavel Fischer, chair of the Czech Senate’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security, and Anders Fogh Rasmussen of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation.