Trump and Xi Jinping Make Progress With Talks in China

President Donald Trump engaged with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, from a position of strength, unlike many past US presidents, who allowed China to set the stage for geopolitical theater and convey a pro-Communist Chinese Party (CCP) message to its audience. Trump’s May 13–15 visit to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was the first time in nearly a decade that a sitting US president met with a Chinese leader in Beijing. The last commander-in-chief to do so was Trump during his first term. In the interim, during the Biden administration, the relationship became strained. 

Secretary of State Set Expectations for China Visit

Before the meetings began, Secretary of State Marco Rubio set the stage for the discussions. In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on board Air Force One during the flight to Beijing, Hannity asked if Rubio viewed China as “our top geopolitical foe.” Rubio replied, 

“Yeah, it’s both our top political challenge geopolitically, and it’s also the most important relationship for us to manage. I mean, it’s a big, powerful country. It’s going to continue to grow. But we’re going to have interests of ours that are going to be in conflict with interests of theirs, and to avoid wars and maintain peace and stability in the world, we’re going to have to manage those.”

With Rubio’s realistic description of the current relationship between the US and China as background, President Trump’s visit began with enormous pomp. He was greeted in front of the Great Hall of the People by a display of China’s armed forces. Trump and Xi took the opportunity to troop the line of the People’s Liberation Army, followed by a large crowd of children cheering and jumping while holding flowers and waving American and Chinese flags. It was an impressive welcome for the US chief executive. 

After the welcoming ceremony, Presidents Trump and Xi entered a closed-door discussion lasting more than two hours, twice the scheduled time. The two leaders then toured the Temple of Heaven and capped the day with an opulent state dinner in Trump’s honor. The US president called the meetings “extremely positive and productive.” During the bilateral meeting, the subject of Taiwan came up. According to the Associated Press, in an NBC News interview, Secretary Rubio said China always “raises the issue of the self-governing island.” The US response has been consistent, maintaining its “strategic ambiguity” on the subject. Rubio told NBC News, “US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today and as of the meeting that we had here today. It was raised. They always raise it on their side. We always make clear our position, and we move on to the other topics.”

The White House posted a readout of the meeting on X, which explained that “President Trump had a good meeting with President Xi of China. The two sides discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation between our two countries, including expanding market access for American businesses into China and increasing Chinese investment into our industries.” This would have to be accompanied by effective safeguards to prevent the CCP from stealing US proprietary technology and to ensure fair trade practices. 

The readout went on to say that the “Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy.” Both nations were of one mind in opposition to Iran militarizing the Strait of Hormuz and “any effort to charge a toll for its use.” Xi also indicated China was interested in buying more oil from the US. The readout highlighted the fact that both the US and the PRC agreed that Iran could never have nuclear weapons. Again, from the Associated Press, “The U.S. president said that Chinese leader Xi Jinping assured him in their conversations that China would not provide weapons to Iran.” There were no assurances that the PRC would refrain from supplying Iran with “intelligence, electronic components, or revenues from the purchase of oil.”

Xi Says He Wants to Help With Iran

After the meeting, in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, President Trump explained, “President Xi would like to see a deal made ... And, oh, he did offer, he said, if I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help.” Clearly, China has a close relationship with Iran, and if Beijing could persuade Tehran not to be obstructionist in the US-Iran peace negotiations, that would be helpful. Additionally, China could try to convince Iran to stop holding the Strait of Hormuz hostage and to give up nuclear ambitions. That would be a tremendous geopolitical step forward. 

It appears that Trump is creating a more sustainable equilibrium in the US-China relationship. He has the ear of President Xi and can talk to him in a straightforward manner, not in the standard diplo-speak that so often obscures foreign policy discussions. By all accounts, Trump’s state visit to China was successful. Are there still thorny issues between the PRC and the US? Yes, absolutely. However, the seemingly warm relationship shared by the two leaders will go a long way toward lowering tensions between their nations.

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