HONG KONG- As President Trump left Beijing on Friday, a familiar nickname for the president, flattering at first glance, resurfaced on Chinese social media, declaring that Chuan Jianguo, the “Nation Builder” had returned.
It wasn't a compliment. The nation he is building, according to the Chinese, is not the United States but his own, through a series of unintentional but costly mistakes inflicted by Trump at home and abroad.
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If the Chinese government appeared confident in attending Trump's summit with Xi Jinping, then the results of the state visit, in which Beijing refused to offer Trump any significant deals or concessions, indicate its unequivocal confidence in American decline.
The Chinese government's statements in local media that they returned to Trump so much as he was leaving irritated the president, a U.S. official said. But the White House got clarification from the Chinese that seemed to appease Trump. They said America was only declining under President Biden, but not anymore.
President Trump and President Xi Jinping tour Zhongnanhai Garden on Friday in Beijing.
(Evan Vucci/Pool via Getty Images)
The Trump administration maintains that the trip was a success, securing the show of conciliation and partnership that the president had sought after years of increasingly dangerous acrimony.
China foreign policy hawks will be displeased with his new direction of friendship and cooperation with a government they view as openly hostile to the United States. But Trump appears to have reached a similar conclusion to previous administrations: that China might need a relationship in pursuit of, as Xi put it, “constructive strategic stability.”
Trump was noticeably out of character during his time here, deferential to his host, marveling at displays of Chinese power and reticent to speak to the press.
Five times over two days, Trump referred to Xi as his friend and took every public opportunity to offer him compliments and pats on the back. None of that was reciprocated. The Chinese leader, Trump told Fox News in an interview, was also “all business” in private, seemingly uninterested in his overtures of personal goodwill.
Presidents Xi and Trump tour Zhongnanhai Garden on Friday.
(Evan Vucci—Pool/Getty Images)
Ultimately, the summit may be remembered as the moment when Trump recognized a shifting power dynamic, in which an American president had the rare and uncomfortable experience of entering a meeting clearly outmatched.
“I think the most important thing is the relationship,” Trump said in the interview, describing the summit as “historic.”
“It's all about relationship,” he added. “I have a very good relationship with President Xi.”
Taiwan was talked about “all night”
Few substantial achievements were made in the two days of talks. But Chinese officials expected no less after warning Trump's team before the summit that their minimal preparation had failed to lay the groundwork for diplomatic agreements.
Still, the lack of progress may come as a relief to some in Washington. Trump appears to have maintained a long-standing U.S. line on Taiwan, refusing for now to provide Xi with clarity on whether the United States would defend the self-governing island if China tries to claim it by force.
The two men discussed the matter “all night,” Trump told Fox.
If China attacked, “they would be met harshly and bad things would happen,” Trump said. However, in the same response, he questioned Taiwan's “odds” against China if war broke out, even with US help, noting its proximity to mainland China and its great distance from the United States.
It is still an open question whether Trump will proceed with the arms sales to Taiwan, approved by Congress and mandated by law under the Taiwan Relations Act.
“If it stays as it is, I think China will be okay with that,” Trump said, referencing an ambiguous status quo around Taiwan's status, “but we're not looking for someone to say, 'Let's be independent because the United States has our back.'”
“Taiwan would be very smart to cool it down a bit,” he added. “China would be smart to cool it down a little bit. They should both cool it down.”
President Trump leaves as President Xi looks on after a visit to Zhongnanhai Garden on Friday.
(Evan Vucci/Pool via Getty Images)
curious company
Trump's choice of the company in the American delegation left the Chinese with questions about the purpose of the trip.
Lara Trump, a Fox News host and the president's daughter-in-law, attended alongside her husband, Eric Trump, whose presence as a private citizen at the helm of the Trump Organization was a direct call to Beijing to treat the administration like a family business. Brett Ratner, director of the series “Rush Hour” and of a documentary about the first lady that failed at the box office, obtained a privileged place along with the main business leaders of the United States.
The last time a defense secretary attended a presidential state visit to China was on Richard Nixon's famous trip in 1972. Chinese officials were unsure what to make of Pete Hegseth's presence: whether he intended to convey a softer stance, a tougher stance, or simply an ignorance of basic diplomatic protocol.
Trump said he was personally humbled by the lavish welcome he received at the edge of Tiananmen Square, outside the Great Hall of the People, where China receives all visiting dignitaries.
Before a lunch at Zhongnanhai, the secret headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party, Trump asked Xi if he was special for visiting the complex. He was the fourth US president to do so.
While the Trump administration offered glowing reviews of the summit's outcome, the Chinese government offered little to say upon its departure. And Chinese media highlighted Beijing's determined stance on American priorities – from trade to the Iran war – as evidence of Chinese confidence and American decline.
But all that business was not the point of the trip, Trump told Fox's Bret Baier. For the president, it was all personal.
“I want to thank President Xi, my friend, for this magnificent welcome,” Trump said in his toast at the state banquet, repeating the personal proposal. “The American and Chinese people have a lot in common. We value hard work. We value courage and achievement. We love our families and we love our countries.
“Together we have the opportunity to harness these values to create a future of greater prosperity, cooperation, happiness and peace for our children,” Trump added. “We love our children. This region and the world are a special world, in which the two of us are united and together.”
