Taiwan, chips and rare earths: the Xi-Trump summit did not change the balance

The markets, somehow (and also in light of the American delegation on board the presidential plane) expected at least a political signal of détente on the AI front. But that signal did not come, also demonstrating that Chinese autonomy on the technology front now gives Beijing new room for manoeuvre.

But the signal did not come for Tesla either. The presence of Musk, who has gone viral on social media for Mr Elon's usual over-the-top attitudes (above all, the posture he assumed during a selfie with Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi), did not help to unlock one of the most important dossiers for Tesla: the Chinese green light for Full Self-Driving. During the summit, there were no official announcements or public openings from Beijing. Perhaps it should not be forgotten that in China, Musk continues to have an ambiguous image. On the one hand, it is seen as the symbol of Western innovation and modern electrics. While on the other, Beijing views with increasing suspicion its ties with Washington and especially with Starlink and SpaceX, which are considered sensitive issues for Chinese national security.

Another open chapter was that of Boeing, but here too the results brought home by the US did not seem satisfactory. For days the Trump administration had let the possibility of a maxi Chinese order filter through, with numbers circulating for weeks around 500 aircraft. In the end Trump spoke of around 200 jets, but without concrete details on the models, timing or structure of the agreement. And above all without an official signature. And in fact the Arlington (Virginia) company's stock slipped in the alt-market.

In short, the main outcome of the Beijing summit seems to be the maintenance of the fragile trade truce reached at the last meeting between the two leaders last October, when Trump had suspended the heaviest tariffs on Chinese goods and Xi Jinping had avoided further hardening the rare earths front. Otherwise, smiles aside, many issues remained essentially unresolved. And it was not enough for Trump to bring the world's most powerful CEOs to China to bend Beijing on strategic dossiers. Xi Jinping has chosen the line of caution and rigidity. Especially on the Taiwan issue, where the Chinese warning seemed truly severe for the first time. The island remains the most critical point in relations between the two powers. The Sarajevo gun of the 21st century, as it has already been called. And Trump's non-response to a Reuters question about Taiwan seemed to tell the true climate of the summit, more than many official statements.