A smooth Trump-Xi summit masked deeper competing motives
The Trump-Xi summit in Beijing on May 15 featured diplomatic cordiality and symbolic gestures, allowing both leaders to project success despite underlying tensions. While Trump highlighted potential commercial deals, including Boeing contracts and market access, few concrete outcomes were achieved. Xi emphasized China's rising global role and warned against the 'Thucydides Trap,' framing the U.S. as a declining power and China as its ascendant counterpart.
- ▪The summit concluded on May 15 in Beijing with both sides presenting a united front despite ongoing geopolitical tensions.
- ▪Trump claimed commercial victories, including a major Boeing contract and increased market access for U.S. firms, though these were largely aspirational.
- ▪Xi invoked the 'Thucydides Trap' to describe the U.S.-China rivalry, positioning the U.S. as a declining power and China as a rising one.
- ▪Xi reiterated China's stance on Taiwan, emphasizing inevitable reunification, but Trump did not alter the U.S. position during the talks.
- ▪The Chinese president used the summit to portray himself as a stable leader amid U.S.-initiated global instability, particularly referencing the war in Iran.
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The choreography of summits between the United States and China generally allows both sides to save face and claim success. The summit that concluded in Beijing on Friday, May 15, was no exception, which was significant given the many uncertainties clouding the international context. Donald Trump, as is his custom, did not hesitate to tout his commercial achievements, though most of them were just promises. These included a major contract favoring the aerospace giant Boeing and the opening of the Chinese market to American companies. Read more Subscribers only Behind the cordial facade, the Trump-Xi summit yields no significant progress The meticulously orchestrated welcome extended by Chinese President Xi Jinping to his American counterpart aimed to present both countries as equals.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Le Monde (EN).
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