Stung by Iran war, Trump heads to China in need of wins

(Reuters)

BEIJING, May 12- A year ago, U.S. President Donald Trump predicted that towering trade tariffs would bring America’s main economic rival to heel.

He heads to China this week with that ambition blunted by court rulings, narrowing his goals to a ​few deals on beans, beef and Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab jets, and enlisting China’s help to resolve his unpopular Iran war, political analysts say.

The modest expectations for Trump’s May 14-15 meetings with Xi Jinping – the first since they ‌paused a bruising trade war in October – underscore how Trump’s bombastic approach has failed to deliver an advantage ahead of the talks, according to analysts.

Trump “kind of needs China more than China needs him,” said Alejandro Reyes, a professor specialising in Chinese foreign policy at the University of Hong Kong.

“He needs a kind of foreign policy victory: a victory that shows that he is looking to ensure stability in the world and that he’s not just disrupting global politics,” Reyes added.

Since their last brief meeting at an airbase in ​South Korea where Trump suspended triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods and Xi backed away from choking global supplies of rare earths, China has quietly sharpened its economic pressure toolkit aimed at Washington.

Trump, meanwhile, has been ​preoccupied fighting U.S. court rulings against his tariffs and a war with Iran that has sapped his approval ratings ahead of November’s midterm elections.

This week’s meeting in the Chinese ⁠capital will be a grander occasion, with the leaders set to hold a summit at the Great Hall of the People, tour UNESCO-heritage site Temple of Heaven, dine at a state banquet and take tea and lunch ​together.

But the anticipated economic deliverables amount to a handful of deals and mechanisms to manage future trade, while it remains unclear whether the leaders will even agree to extend their trade truce, officials involved in the planning said.

Aside from trade, Trump said on Monday he will discuss arms sales to Taiwan and the case of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai with Xi. Families of two Americans imprisoned in China for more than a decade are also urging Trump to seek their release.

“We used to be taken advantage of for years with our previous presidents, and now we’re doing great with China,” Trump said. “I respect ​him (Xi) a lot, and hopefully he respects me.”