News Analysis: Trump spent two days with Xi in Beijing. Was he outplayed?

HONG KONG — As President Trump departed Beijing on Friday, Chinese social media resurfaced a familiar nickname for the president—flattering at first glance—declaring: Chuan Jianguo, The “Nation Builder” was back.

This wasn’t a compliment. For the Chinese, the nation they are building is not the United States, but their own through a series of unintentional but costly mistakes Trump has made at home and abroad.

If the Chinese government is confident heading into Trump’s summit with Xi Jinping, then the results of the state visit, in which Beijing refused to offer Trump any meaningful agreements or concessions, also signal its clear confidence in America’s decline.

A US official said the Chinese government’s comments in local media came back to Trump as he was leaving and angered the president. However, the White House received a statement from the Chinese that would calm Trump down. They said America only declined under President Biden; not anymore.

President Trump and President Xi Jinping toured Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on Friday.

(Pool via Evan Vucci/Getty Images)

The Trump administration argues that the trip was a success, demonstrating the reconciliation and partnership the president has sought after years of increasingly dangerous acrimony.

Foreign policy hawks toward China will be unhappy with its new drive for friendship and cooperation with a government they view as openly hostile to the United States. But Trump appears to have reached a similar conclusion as past administrations: that China may need a relationship for “constructive strategic stability,” as Xi puts it.

Trump was particularly uncharacteristic during his stay, deferential to his host, astonished at China’s displays of power, and reluctant to talk to the press.

Trump referred to Xi as a friend five times over two days and took every public opportunity to offer compliments and pats on the back. None of them were rewarded. Trump said in an interview on Fox News that the Chinese leader was also “just business” in private and apparently uninterested in his personal overtures of goodwill.

President Xi and Trump toured Zhongnanhai Garden on Friday.

(Evan Vucci—Pool/Getty Images)

The summit may ultimately be remembered as the moment when Trump realized a shifting power dynamic, when an American president had the rare and disturbing experience of walking into a meeting clearly outmaneuvering.

“I think the most important thing is the relationship,” Trump said in the interview, describing the summit as “historic.”

“It’s all about the relationship,” he added. “I have a very good relationship with President Xi.”

Taiwan was discussed ‘all night’

Little was achieved in two days of talks. But Chinese officials expected nothing less after warning Trump’s team before the summit that minimal preparations had failed to pave the way for diplomatic agreements.

Still, the lack of breakthroughs may reassure some in Washington. Trump appears to have long held the US position on Taiwan, refusing to provide clarity to Xi on whether the US would defend the self-governing island if China tried to take it back by force.

The two men discussed the issue “all night long,” Trump told Fox.

If China attacked, “they would be met harshly and bad things would happen,” Trump said. Yet in the same response, he questioned the “likelihood” of Taiwan against China if war broke out even with U.S. help, noting Taiwan’s proximity to mainland China and its great distance from the United States.

It remains an open question whether Trump will continue arms sales to Taiwan, which have been approved by Congress and are required by law under the Taiwan Relations Act.

“If you continue this way, I think China will accept it,” Trump said, referring to the uncertain status quo regarding Taiwan’s status. “But we don’t want someone to say, ‘Let’s be independent because the United States supports us.'”

“It would be very wise for Taiwan to cool things down a bit,” he added. “It would be wise for China to cool down a bit. They both need to cool down.”

President Trump leaves under the supervision of President Xi after his visit to Zhongnanhai Garden on Friday.

(Evan Vucci/Pool via Getty Images)

curious company

Trump’s choice of the company in the US delegation left the Chinese with question marks about the purpose of the trip.

Lara Trump, the Fox News host and the president’s daughter-in-law, attended with her husband, Eric Trump, whose presence as a private citizen running the Trump Organization was a direct call to Beijing to treat the administration like a family business. Brett Ratner, director of the “Rush Hour” series, a documentary about the First Lady that bombed at the box office, took the top spot with America’s top business leaders.

The last time a Secretary of Defense participated in a presidential state visit to China was in 1972, during Richard Nixon’s famous trip. Chinese officials were unsure what Pete Hegseth’s presence would mean; They were uncertain whether this meant a softer stance, a tougher stance, or simply ignorance of basic diplomatic protocol.

Trump said he was personally honored by the generous reception he received at the edge of Tiananmen Square, outside the Great Hall of the People, where China hosts all visiting dignitaries.

Before having lunch at Zhongnanhai, the secret headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party, Trump asked Xi if he had a special time to visit the compound. He became the fourth US president to do so.

While the Trump administration offered positive assessments of the summit’s outcome, the Chinese government had little to say as it left the summit. Chinese media have also highlighted Beijing’s firm stance on American priorities, from trade to the Iran war, as evidence of China’s lack of confidence and America’s decline.

But all that business wasn’t the point of the trip. Trump told Fox’s Bret Baier:. For the president, everything was personal.

“I want to thank my friend President Xi for this wonderful welcome,” Trump said, repeating his personal opening statement in his toast at the state banquet. “American and Chinese people share many things in common. We value hard work. We value courage and achievement. We love our families and our countries.

“Together, we have the opportunity to leverage 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 this world is a special world where the two of us are together and together.”