First Thing: China trip winds down but Trump-Xi Iran accord remains elusive | Jem Bartholomew

Good morning. In his visit to China , Donald Trump, has seemed to revel in Chinese hospitality and flattery. Walking in the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing, the US president was overheard saying that Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, was giving him roses for the White House Rose Garden, according to a pool report. But warm words aside, there have not been any major announcements from the summit, no breakthrough on Taiwan’s future, and an accord on the Iran war has remained elusive. Trump has claimed that the US and China “feel very similar” about ending the war in Iran but offered no details about a possible breakthrough. “We did discuss Iran,” Trump said on the final day of the meeting. “We feel very similar about [how] we want it to end. We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon. We want the straits open.” Trump departed Beijing on Friday. He said “a lot of good” came from his China visit and “we’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to solve”. Trump also said that numerous deals had been struck between the US and China, including China buying 200 Boeing jets as well as US oil and soya beans. This deal has not been confirmed by either China or Boeing. What has China said on Iran? On Friday, China’s foreign ministry again called for a ceasefire in Iran and said the strait of Hormuz should be opened “as soon as possible”. …