World War 3 fears were thrust back into the spotlight in Beijing this week, as Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Donald Trump that the United States and China could face 'clashes and even conflicts' over Taiwan if the issue is mishandled, according to China's foreign ministry and state media reports.
Trump arrived in China for a three-day visit heavy on pageantry but light, so far, on concrete policy breakthroughs. The US president, who has frequently praised Xi in public, held a private two-hour meeting with the Chinese leader at the Great Hall of the People, with trade, regional security and Taiwan all on the agenda. The talks unfolded against a backdrop of ongoing tensions over US arms sales to Taipei, frictions over Iran and trade rows that have repeatedly strained relations between the world's two biggest economies.
