As Trump’s popularity has suffered in the wake of the Middle East war, the US president’s long-awaited trip to China, his first since his previous visit in 2017, has taken on added significance.
“You’re a great leader. Sometimes people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway”, Trump told Xi after the Chinese president welcomed him to a grand reception at Beijing’s imposing Great Hall of the People, where a guard of honor stood by and crowds of children enthusiastically waved flowers and US and Chinese flags.
“There are those who say this may be the biggest summit ever”, he added. “It’s an honor to be with you. It’s an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.”
Xi opened the summit by saying that each country’s success represented an opportunity for the other, and that a stable China-US relationship benefited the whole world. “When we cooperate, both sides benefit. When we confront each other, both sides suffer.”
Xi also said preparatory talks between economic and trade teams in South Korea on Wednesday had reached “an overall balanced and positive outcome”, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency. The aim, according to Reuters sources, was to maintain the trade truce agreed last October and establish mechanisms to promote future trade and investment.
China also renewed export licenses for hundreds of US beef processing plants, a move analysts saw as a gesture of goodwill. More than 400 US beef processing plants had lost their authorization to export to China over the past year after permits granted by Beijing between March 2020 and April 2021 expired without the usual extensions.
Trump Joined by Musk and Huang
The US president was joined on the trip by a group of chief executives seeking to smooth business ties with China. They included Tesla boss Elon Musk and Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang. Ahead of the meetings, Trump said his first demand of Xi would be to “open up” China to US industry.
Musk, Huang and Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook were also present during the leaders’ initial meeting. As they left the Great Hall, Musk described the discussions as “great”.
Analysts also detected a shift in the atmosphere between the two superpowers. During Trump’s last visit to Beijing, China sought to flatter him and buy billions of dollars’ worth of American goods, said Ali Wyne, senior adviser for US-China relations at the International Crisis Group.
Back then, “China was trying to persuade the United States of its growing status… This time around it’s the United States, unprompted, of its own volition, that is acknowledging that status”, Wyne said, pointing out that Trump had revived the term “G2”, a reference to a superpower duo, when he last met Xi on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in South Korea in October.
Xi Warns Trump Over Taiwan
Although the meeting took place in a broadly positive atmosphere, Xi warned Trump on Thursday that if the Taiwan issue was not handled properly, the two countries could move toward dispute or even conflict, pushing China-US relations into a “very dangerous situation”.
According to Xinhua, Xi described Taiwan as the most important issue in China-US relations. Beijing regards democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory, a claim Taipei rejects, and opposes US arms sales to the island.
The status of a $14bn arms package awaiting Trump’s approval remains unclear. Reuters noted that the US is legally obliged to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
Trump Expected to Seek China’s Help on Iran
In addition to trade and Taiwan, Trump is expected to urge China to persuade Iran to strike a deal with Washington to end the conflict in the Middle East. Analysts doubt Beijing will be willing to put heavy pressure on Tehran, however, because the country forms part of a strategic counterweight to the US.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News while still aboard Air Force One that it was in China’s interest to help resolve the crisis, as many of its ships were stranded in the Persian Gulf and a slowdown in the global economy would hurt Chinese exporters.
(reuters, sak)