Telling detail in Trump and Xi’s high-stakes meeting revealed

Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has analysed US President Donald Trump’s high stakes talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing.

“I saw a lot of what I would expect. These meetings are very structured, they’re very choreographed,” he told Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus.

“There was one thing, however, that was very different, that really jumped out at me which was when Xi said that it actually was the Chinese government who put out a statement that said that Taiwan was the most important issue in the relationship between the US and China.

“This is new.”

Mr Mulvaney suggested this indicates that Taiwan was discussed “a lot more behind the scenes”.