Beijing —
US President Donald Trump’s visit to China this week may have left the country short on an immediate deal to address tensions over tech and trade. But there is little doubt that Chinese leader Xi Jinping sees this as a huge success.
Beijing did not need major concrete achievements to achieve major victories, such as projecting China as an equal to the United States on the world stage and shaping the tone of relations, including with Taiwan.
President Trump’s visit appears to have achieved both.
The time the two leaders spent together during Trump’s three-day visit was filled with great power goodwill and glowing praise from the U.S. president, who called U.S.-China relations one of the “most consequential” relationships in world history.
Even before the two countries met, President Trump told Xi he believed the two countries had a “great future.” Later, at a state dinner, the president said good relations between the two countries could bring a “future of greater prosperity” to the world, a sentiment echoed by Xi’s own toast.
All these accusations and pats on the back created a suitable backdrop for China to announce a new era of “constructive strategic stability” between the two countries, a new era focused on cooperation and managed competition rather than the volatile confrontation of last year.
And the Chinese leader used FaceTime with President Trump to make one thing very clear. The main thing that could undermine good relations is that Taiwan is China’s most important “red line” issue.
If the United States does not successfully address this issue, Mr. Xi told President Trump on the first day of his visit that the entire US-China relationship would be at “great risk.” Beijing claims the autonomous democracy as its own territory and opposes strong unofficial ties between the United States and Taipei.
Trump’s comments to reporters on his way home on Air Force One suggest that the president has at least heard Xi’s concerns, including about the United States’ regular arms sales to Taiwan. Trump said they had discussed the matter “in great detail” and added that he would “make a decision” on arms sales to the island in the near future.
Chinese diplomats were well aware of the opportunity this visit presented them.
They carefully crafted a glitz and pageantry tailored to impress Trump, from gun salutes to a rare trip to a secret Communist Party leadership compound known as Zhongnanhai.
And the US president reflected on exactly the kind of view favored by Chinese foreign policy officials. President Trump led a group of top U.S. CEOs in Beijing, and Mr. Xi said he was there “to pay respects” to Mr. Xi and China.
It speaks volumes about the Chinese government’s own standing to be accorded such respect by the leader of the world’s most powerful country. This gives Xi Jinping both domestic and international advantages as he seeks to project China as an alternative leader to the United States.
CNN analyzes key points as President Trump and Xi’s summit meeting concludes
CNN analyzes key points as President Trump and Xi’s summit meeting concludes
3:23
A predictable relationship with the United States also buys Beijing time to continue its technological, military, and geopolitical rise. U.S. technology regulations and tariffs, similar to those at the center of last year’s retaliatory U.S.-China trade war, could disrupt supply chains, harm companies and slow their momentum.
This is also true for the United States, which learned how powerful China’s influence over the world’s supply of processed rare earths is as the Chinese government tightened its grip on these strategically important materials last year to counter U.S. tariffs.
Although the White House’s official announcement did not repeat Xi’s phrase “constructive and strategic stability,” top U.S. diplomat Marco Rubio told NBC News in an interview from Beijing that the U.S. agreed with China’s emphasis on this “to avoid misunderstandings that could lead to broader conflict.”
Indeed, stable U.S.-China relations could have a positive impact on the global economy, just as friction between the two countries could upend trade.
But how that “strategic stability” is defined could also give China the right to challenge U.S. actions that it does not see as supporting that stability, particularly on the trade and technology issues that heightened tensions last year.
However, following this visit, the area around Taiwan is what the Chinese government is paying most attention to.
Although the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan, it considers it an integral part of Taiwan’s territory. Absorbing it into China, by force if necessary, is central to Beijing’s vision of “national rejuvenation” by 2049.
It seems that Mr. Xi did not miss this point, even if it was subtle. In a toast welcoming President Trump to the banquet, the Chinese leader did not mention Taiwan, but cited similarities between Trump’s “Make America Great Again” spirit and his own vision of “Great Resurrection.”
In an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier that aired Friday night, President Trump said that “nothing has changed” regarding U.S. policy toward Taiwan during his visit. But he also said the two sides “talked all night about the issue,” leaning toward China’s view that Taiwan’s ruling party seeks independence.
“I’ll tell you this: I’m not trying to secede anybody. You know you’re going to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. That’s not what I’m asking for. I want them to chill. I want China to chill,” Trump said.
CNN’s chief national security analyst says Trump’s failure to commit to arms sales to Taiwan is a ‘win for China’
CNN’s chief national security analyst says Trump’s failure to commit to arms sales to Taiwan is a ‘win for China’
5:24
Taipei’s current ruling party supports Taiwan’s sovereignty, but its policies do not call for declaring independence and changing the status quo.
Taiwan is the seat of the Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name) government, and Kuomintang forces previously ruled the mainland, but fled to Taiwan after the Communist Party gained the upper hand in the 1949 civil war. Taiwan had been surrendered to the Republic of China at the end of World War II, only a few decades after Japan acquired the island from China’s Qing Dynasty.
Under its “One China” policy, the United States recognizes China’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially acknowledged the Communist Party’s claims to the island.
How the United States handles its unofficial relationship with Taiwan has long been a sore point for Beijing, which is now watching closely to see whether President Trump moves forward with a $14 billion arms deal with Taiwan. Congress approved the agreement in January.
President Trump said in an interview on Fox News that he was “holding off” the deal and that “it’s up to China…this is a very good bargaining chip.”
Trump also told reporters aboard an Air Force plane upon his return to the United States that he and Xi had discussed arms sales to Taiwan in “very detailed detail” and that a decision on arms sales would be made “in the near future in the near future.”
Suspending this agreement would be a major victory for China.
The United States is required by law to provide arms to Taiwan for its defense. A 1982 U.S. assurance to Taiwan stated that the U.S. had no policy of discussing arms sales with the Chinese government. Asked about that stance Friday, Trump quipped that the 1980s were “a long journey.”
Hours after President Trump left Beijing, China also read and considered the situation on its own.
“During the meeting, I felt that the U.S. side understands China’s position, attaches importance to China’s concerns, and does not support or accept Taiwan’s move towards independence,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters, according to state media.
His statement also made another announcement. President Xi confirmed that he accepted President Trump’s invitation to visit the United States in the fall, opening the next major touchpoint between the two leaders that could potentially extend their friendship period.
