Trump-Xi meeting covers Iran, trade and AI safety; Taiwan absent from White House readout

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing on the 14th. According to a White House readout, the two sides held a “good” meeting and agreed that Iran must never possess nuclear weapons. Xinhua reported that Xi said the Taiwan issue is “the most important issue in China-U.S. relations” and that properly handling it would help keep bilateral ties generally stable. However, the White House readout did not mention Taiwan. Analysts said this may indicate that Trump did not make concessions on Taiwan. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after the meeting that U.S. policy toward Taiwan has not changed and that any forced change to the status quo would be harmful to both the United States and China. He added that arms sales had been discussed in the past but were not the focus of this meeting. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who attended the Trump-Xi meeting, earlier suggested that the United States and China were close to finalizing a major Boeing aircraft order and would also discuss safety standards for AI development. Trump said in an interview on the 15th that China had agreed to buy 200 aircraft from Boeing. U.S. soybean exports are included in the current sales agreement with China, and Beijing is also interested in buying more U.S. energy products. Bessent said the two countries would discuss creating a committee to identify non-sensitive U.S. industries that could accept Chinese investment, as well as another trade committee to help roll back some tariffs on about $30 billion in goods in non-critical sectors. Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed a special defense act after a third reading, removing items related to commercial procurement and commissioned production. Defense officials said the move would have a major impact on military buildup and combat readiness, with the effect on combat power difficult to estimate. The Ministry of National Defense said it would draft response measures to minimize the impact. The first payment of about NT$800 million for the HIMARS multiple rocket system is due on May 31, and the ministry said it still aims to complete payment by the end of the month, after reporting to the legislature and applying for budget release under the Budget Act. TSMC announced three advanced process technologies, A13, A12 and N2U, at its Taiwan technology forum. The company also said it will begin mass production this year of the world’s largest 5.5-reticle-size CoWoS, with yields above 98%. TSMC is starting up five fabs this year to rapidly expand 2-nanometer capacity, estimating that first-year 2nm wafer output will be 45% higher than 3nm output at the same stage. TSMC also said customers in the Asia-Pacific region used more than 2.1 million 12-inch-equivalent wafers last year, and projected that global semiconductor output value could reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, with AI and high-performance computing contributing the largest share at 55%. The U.S. Treasury issued $25 billion in new 30-year bonds at a yield of 5.046%, the first time since 2007 that long-term U.S. debt has been sold at a yield above 5%. Growing signs suggest the Iran war has triggered a new round of inflation in the United States, with April consumer prices rising 3.8%, the largest increase in three years. Vice President J.D. Vance unusually departed from the Trump administration’s optimistic tone and acknowledged that inflation was “not ideal.” Inflation hawk Kevin Warsh is set to succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, drawing market attention to his leadership and policy direction. Taiwan’s Examination Yuan approved amendments to the Civil Servant Performance Evaluation Act, changing the current four-tier grading system into three categories: “excellent,” “good” and “below good.” The amendments also define specific grounds for excellent and below-good ratings. Those rated excellent or good may advance one salary step, with bonuses raised to 1.3 months and one month respectively. Those rated below good will receive a six-month improvement period; if they still fail to meet expectations, or receive a second below-good rating within three years, they must be dismissed. The only overseas directly operated Tsutaya Bookstore in the world will open on the 16th at Taipei’s Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. Kazuma Otsuka, chairman of Tsutaya Taiwan, said the goal is not merely to do business in Taiwan but to become a bridge between Taiwanese and Japanese culture. He said Tsutaya does not intend to directly compete with Eslite and instead hopes for opportunities to cooperate. After October, Tsutaya will add three more locations in Banqiao, Taichung and Yilan, with Yilan marking its first expansion into eastern Taiwan. At least 10 gunshots were heard at the Philippine Senate on the night of the 13th. At the time, Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, was seeking refuge inside the Senate. Dela Rosa, a former police chief, was a key executor of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, which drew controversy over suspected extrajudicial killings. After President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. held an emergency meeting on the 14th, the presidential office said the gunfire resulted from warning shots exchanged between Senate security personnel and National Bureau of Investigation agents, with no injuries reported. The military chief instructed soldiers to remain professional and stay out of politics. As political tensions have intensified in the Philippines and relations between the Duterte and Marcos families have deteriorated, concerns have grown over possible coups or military unrest. A series of hidden-camera scandals has hit aesthetic medicine clinics in Taiwan. Premier Cho Jung-tai said the Ministry of Justice and the National Police Agency have launched a special investigation and strengthened enforcement, while ministries and local governments have been asked to proactively inspect beauty clinics, salons, fitness centers and lodging facilities. Taipei prosecutors investigating the Saint Eir clinic case questioned the owner and a branch manager, releasing them on bail of NT$3 million and NT$500,000 respectively. In Hsinchu, a clinic owner suspected of serious privacy violations was released on NT$1 million bail and barred from leaving the country or going to sea. Kaohsiung’s health bureau had inspected 43 institutions as of the 13th, and two A-Lei clinics in Kaohsiung were ordered to suspend operations for six months over privacy violations and other breaches. A Taichung city councilor also revealed that one clinic required new employees to practice taking breast augmentation photos while partially unclothed, affecting 12 people. Mayor Lu Shiow-yen asked agencies to draft filming rules to protect workplace safety. A male contract basketball coach surnamed Chi at an elementary school in Taipei is accused of sexually assaulting and molesting children and producing child sexual images. There were as many as 53 victims, and investigators found more than 1,000 video files. Prosecutors charged him under the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act and other laws, asking the court for a heavy sentence. Separately, a man surnamed Chang in Tainan, who served as the owner and teacher of an after-school care center, was sentenced by the Tainan District Court to 10 years and six months in prison for molesting multiple girls over six years.