Trump-Xi summit "unprecedented" in Beijing, trade and war in Iran on the menu

by Trevor Hunnicutt and Mei Mei Chu

Donald Trump was received in Beijing on Thursday by Xi Jinping for discussions during which the American president intends to obtain “economic successes with his Chinese counterpart, preserve the fragile Sino-American trade truce and navigate thorny issues – war in Iran, Taiwan.

While his popularity rating is declining due to the war in Iran, less than six months before the midterm elections in the American Congress (“midterms”), Donald Trump sees his highly anticipated visit to China – the first by an American president since his previous trip in 2017 during his first term – take on even greater importance.

He was received with pomp on Thursday morning at the Great Hall of the People by Xi Jinping. The two leaders exchanged a handshake and warm smiles on a red carpet spread out in front of the imposing Beijing building, while children waved flowers and flags of the two countries, to the sound of revolutionary anthems.

“You are a great leader. Sometimes people don’t like me to say it, but I say it anyway,” Donald Trump said to Xi Jinping, after giving the latter several pats on the back as the two leaders climbed the steps of the palace.

“Some say it could be an unprecedented summit,” he added. “It’s an honor to be in your company. It’s an honor to be your friend, and the relationship between China and the United States is better than ever.”

Xi Jinping told his American counterpart that “the success of each country represents an opportunity for the other.” “A stable China-US relationship benefits the whole world,” the Chinese president continued. “When we cooperate, both sides benefit. When we clash, both sides suffer.”

According to a White House official, the meeting went well and the two men considered ways to increase their economic cooperation.

They also addressed the situation in the Middle East and agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should reopen and that Iran should never gain access to nuclear weapons.

The situation in Taiwan was not mentioned in the report released by the American presidency.

THE RATIO OF FORCES HAS CHANGED

Donald Trump is notably accompanied in China by a group of leaders of large American companies, including Elon Musk and the general director of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, a last-minute guest who took his place aboard the presidential plane Air Force One during a stopover in Alaska.

Many of these bosses are eager to resolve differences with Chinese regulators. Donald Trump indicated via his Truth Social network when he left for Beijing that he wanted to urge Xi Jinping to “open” China to American companies.

But the balance of power has changed since Donald Trump’s last visit to the United States’ main rival, noted Ali Wyne, senior advisor on Sino-American relations at the International Crisis Group think tank, recalling that in 2017 China had strived to accommodate the president American by purchasing billions of dollars of American products.

At the time, Beijing “was trying to persuade the United States of its growing status (…)”, he said. “This time, it is the United States, spontaneously, of their own free will, which recognizes this status,” he added, citing the way in which Donald Trump used during his previous meeting last October with Xi Jinping – a brief meeting on the sidelines of a forum regional in South Korea – the term ‘G2’ in reference to a duo of superpowers.

The two leaders will have the opportunity to discuss at greater length in Beijing. After their meeting at the Great Palace of the People, their joint program includes a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an official banquet on Thursday evening and a lunch on Friday, according to the timetable communicated by the White House.

PRESSURES

Donald Trump, however, approaches these meetings with a weakened ‘hand’. The United States Supreme Court and American courts have restricted its ability to impose tariffs at will on products from China and other countries.

Furthermore, the war in Iran has raised fuel prices and fueled inflation in the United States, reinforcing the hypothesis that his Republican Party will lose next November the majority it has in both houses of Congress.

If Chinese growth has run out of steam, Xi Jinping is not faced with comparable economic or political pressures.

The fact remains that both camps want to extend the trade truce established last October, when Donald Trump suspended customs duties of more than 100% imposed on Chinese products and Xi Jinping reversed strict measures to control exports of rare earths, crucial for a range of global production chains.

The two leaders are expected to discuss at their summit the establishment of forums intended to promote bilateral trade and investment as well as dialogue on issues related to artificial intelligence (AI).

Washington intends to sell Boeing planes, agricultural products and energy to Beijing in order to reduce its bilateral trade deficit, a deficit that has long irritated Donald Trump. Beijing wants Washington to ease restrictions on imports of advanced semiconductors and chipmaking equipment, officials involved in preparations for the summit said.

THE QUESTION OF ‌TAà WAN, BEIJINGâ€TMs PRIORITY

In addition to these trade issues, Donald Trump is expected to ask China to convince Iran to conclude an agreement with the United States to end the conflict triggered on February 28 by the American-Israeli bombing campaign, even if the American president has denied needing the help of Beijing.

Analysts have expressed doubt whether Xi Jinping is willing to put pressure on Tehran or stop supporting the Iranian military, given Iran’s value in China’s eyes as a strategic counter-power to the United States.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News during the flight aboard Air Force One to Beijing that it was in China’s interest to help resolve this crisis as many Chinese ships are stuck in the Gulf, adding that a slowdown in the global economy would harm Chinese exporters.

For Xi Jinping, one of the big priorities is Taiwan, the democratic island that Beijing considers as a renegade province and to which Washington supplies weapons. The Chinese president stressed Thursday morning to Donald Trump that the Taiwan issue was the most important point in Sino-American relations, reported the Xinhua news agency.

If this issue is not adequately resolved, the two countries could find themselves in confrontation, with the effect of pushing relations between China and the United States “into a very dangerous zone”, the same source added.

A few hours before the arrival of Donald Trump, China reiterated on Wednesday its firm opposition to American arms sales to Taipei, while the Pentagon approved last December an unprecedented arms sale of 14 billion dollars to the island, for which Trump must give his formal agreement. Under US law, the United States is obliged to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

Donald Trump “doesn’t really have that many cards to play, but I don’t think he sees things that way,” commented Ronan Fu, deputy research fellow at the Taiwanese government think tank Academia Sinica. “He will not let China ask for everything it wants (…) and make all the concessions it asks for,” he added.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Mei Mei Chu, ​with contributions from the Beijing office and Ben Blanchard in Taipei; French version Jean Terzian)