Xi Jinping sends horror WW3 warning to Donald Trump over Taiwan - 'We will fight'

Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned Donald Trump that the US and China will fight a war if Washington ramps up its support for Taiwan. Xi said the two countries could "come into conflict" over the disputed island during their bilateral meeting. He called Taiwan the "most important issue in China-US relations" in comments released by state media on Thursday.

The Chinese President added: "If it is handled well, bilateral relations can remain generally stable. If it is not handled properly, the two countries could collide or even come into conflict, pushing the entire China–US relationship into a very dangerous situation."

These comments, which the US President has yet to respond to, are the first insight into the meeting between the two leaders. Their meeting ran over by an hour, lasting two hours and 15 minutes.

Before the talks, Xi stressed in his opening remarks that "the whole world is watching our meeting", and the US and China should "be friends, not rivals".

Mr Trump also praised his relationship with his Chinese counterpart and their ability to work out issues "very quickly".

He said: "I say it to everybody [that] you’re a great leader – sometimes people don’t like me saying it – but I say it anyway because it’s true. I always say the truth."

The White House has since provided a readout from the bilateral meeting, which makes no reference to Taiwan.

An official said Mr Trump "had a good meeting with President Xi", and that talks focused on economic cooperation, Chinese investment in US industries, and American businesses in China.

Both sides also agreed that the Strait of Hormuz "must remain open to support the free flow of energy".

It added: "President Xi also made clear China’s opposition to the militarisation of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait in the future.

"Both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon."