Flattery and fanfare as Trump welcomed to China – but thorny issues remain

BBC:

Xi Jinping threw a grand welcome for Donald Trump on the first day of a visit that could reset ties between the rival superpowers.

The military honour guard lined up outside the Great Hall of the People to welcome Trump, complete with a gun salute and a band playing the US national anthem. The president paused twice to say hello to schoolchildren cheering with Chinese and American flags.

As he shook hands with Xi, he leaned in to pat him on the arm in what appeared to be a gesture of warmth. And he lavished praise on his host.

“You’re a great leader. I say it to everybody,” he declared in what appeared to be unscripted remarks. Later, on his tour of the 15th Century Temple of Heaven, he remarked to reporters that China was beautiful. At the banquet this evening, he called the talks a “cherished” opportunity.

It was a remarkable day given Trump built up his political brand by talking tough on China.

“We can’t continue to allow China to rape our country, and that’s what they’re doing,” he told a campaign rally in 2016.

In 2020, he claimed China has “ripped off the United Sates like no one has ever done before”, and described the Covid-19 pandemic as the “Chinese virus”. Before returning to power, he vowed to “make China pay”.

At the height of the trade war last year, the two sides had levied tariffs that crossed 100% on each other. A fragile truce followed but one of the main questions hanging over this visit is whether that will last, and what deal would take its place?

The others are around Iran – can Beijing help broker a deal? – and Taiwan, the US ally and self-governed island that China claims as its territory.

Beijing put on a spectacle designed to flatter Trump ahead of any deal to prove China’s door is open to guests. However, soon after talks began, state media published comments from Xi making clear that tensions over Taiwan could prove challenging.

But the meticulous choreography was not just for the benefit of Trump and the 30 CEOs who accompanied him. It was also a show of strength, which Beijing knows will be beamed live across the US and the world.

“We are witnessing a historical change,” says John Delury, a senior fellow from the Centre on US-China Relations at the Asia Society.

“I hesitate to put too much on this specific summit, but the inexorable rise of China to a place where it is legitimately rivalling the U.S. – that is now happening before our eyes. Beijing is now the second world capital.”