Trump's visit to China shows that power has shifted eastward

US President Donald Trump left China yesterday without major progress on trade and without tangible help from Beijing to end the war in Iran, despite showering praise on his host Xi Jinping during a two-day visit.

The visit to the US's main strategic and economic rival, the first by an American president to China since Trump's previous trip in 2017, was aimed at achieving concrete results that would help him repair his weakened approval ratings ahead of the November congressional elections. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Xi would visit the US in the fall at Trump's invitation.

The summit was marked by lavish ceremonies, from military parades to tours of a secret garden. But in closed-door talks with a distinguished guest, Xi issued a sharp rebuke of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, warning that the superpowers could “clash or even conflict” over the island. Xi said Taiwan was “the most important issue in China-U.S. relations.”

Speaking to reporters on his return to the US, Trump said Xi had told him he opposed Taiwan independence.

"I listened to him. I didn't comment... I didn't commit to anything," Trump said, adding that he would soon decide on arms sales to Taiwan, after speaking with "the person who is currently running Taiwan." Reuters reported that, noting that it was unclear whether he was referring to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te.

Reuters writes that a direct conversation between the current US president and the leader of Taiwan would be unprecedented since Washington transferred diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, and would likely anger China, which considers the island its territory.

These were Trump's first extensive statements after his stay in Beijing, where he was unusually reserved, and his spontaneous remarks mostly amounted to praise for Xi's cordiality and authority.

Time magazine writes that Trump was quickly shown where he belonged in China. Given that he reacts violently to even the slightest insult, which he perceives as an attack, it is telling that Xi came from a position of power and clearly set boundaries from the very beginning. According to Time editor Charlie Campbell, the most memorable image of the entire visit is the shot of the two leaders in front of the Ming Dynasty Temple of Heaven: Trump is unusually reserved and silent when reporters ask him if they discussed Taiwan. Instead of answering, he simply said: “China is beautiful.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has rushed to reassure the public that US policy towards Taiwan has not changed.

However, as Campbell states, the image of the American president, for whom belligerence has long been a part of his political image, appearing uncomfortable and as if he has backed down, strikingly shows how much the balance of power in the world is changing.

“Xi felt free to issue harsh warnings, apparently without much concern for possible backlash or displeasure from Trump,” says Sung Wen-ti, an expert on Chinese leadership at the Australian National University. “He came out tough in public with Trump — and got away with it.”

Campbell says such a show of strength may seem surprising given the challenges China faces, from an economy weighed down by a protracted housing crisis, weak consumer demand, and entrenched deflation. GDP growth has slowed to around 5 percent, well below the levels of the boom years, while youth unemployment hovers around 19 percent.

But China has also proven remarkably resilient, he adds, running a record $1,2 trillion trade surplus last year despite U.S. tariffs of up to 145 percent. In April, it reported record monthly exports, up 14,1 percent from the same month a year earlier, thanks in part to surging demand for green technology products, from electric vehicles to wind turbines and batteries, demonstrating its ability not only to weather the disruptions caused by the Iran war but also to profit from them.

Speaking about the conflict, now in its third month and with the IMF warning of a global recession, Trump said Xi had promised during their talks not to send military equipment to Iran and offered to help stop the hostilities. "He said, 'I'd like to help, if I can be of any help,'" Trump told Fox News.

A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, however, was more assertive, saying that the conflict "never should have happened" and that "there is no need for it to continue."

The most memorable image of the entire visit is a shot of the two leaders in front of the Ming Dynasty Temple of Heaven: Trump is unusually reserved and silent as reporters ask him if they discussed Taiwan. Instead, he simply says, "China is beautiful."

While it is true that China has significant influence over Tehran, as the buyer of most of Iran’s oil, that influence has clear limits when it comes to the very survival of the regime, Campbell points out. In addition, China, thanks to its large reserves, onshore energy pipelines and green energy infrastructure, has weathered the disruptions caused by the war well and is now reaping the benefits of soft power as Washington tarnishes its own international image, particularly in the Global South, which has been disproportionately affected by the surge in energy prices.

“China has always argued that America is behaving as a violent, selfish warmonger,” says Nick Beasley, a professor of international relations at Australia’s La Trobe University. “And now it can say, ‘That’s exactly what we’re talking about.’”

Campbell says Trump appeared defensive throughout his time in China. He didn't entertain reporters on the long flight to Beijing, nor did he post on his Truth Social network after his first meeting with Xi. When he finally did post, it was to defend Xi, who had suggested the United States was in decline, warning of the danger of the Thucydides Trap - a situation in which a rising power and a declining power often end up in conflict.

Trump defended the assessment of America's decline as "100 percent accurate" and "very elegantly" delivered, even though, as he noted, it referred to "the enormous damage we've suffered during four years of sleepy Joe Biden." Xi, Trump said enthusiastically, is "a man I respect very much" and who "has truly become a friend."

At a state banquet in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, a Mao-era building, Trump — known for not drinking alcohol — appeared so condescending that he even appeared to take a sip of wine to toast Xi’s remark that “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the quest to make America great again can go hand in hand.” Later, during a tour of Zhongnanhai, the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership complex, Trump said, “These are the most beautiful roses anyone has ever seen.”

Trump touted the visit as a success, touting China’s promise to buy 200 Boeing jets and saying it would mean “a lot of jobs.” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also said he expected China to agree to buy “tens of billions” of dollars worth of U.S. agricultural products over the next three years, but it remains uncertain whether those promises will actually come to fruition.

China also benefited from the fact that a whole series of issues that have burdened relations with Washington for years were left aside this time.

China pledged in October to buy 25 million metric tons of soybeans annually by 2028, but is already falling far short of that commitment, buying the much cheaper commodity from Brazil instead. The Time analysis says the Boeing order is particularly unusual given that China is introducing its own C919 passenger jet to great fanfare.

“The headline numbers will look very impressive,” says Chong Ja Yan, a professor of international relations at the National University of Singapore. “But I would be a little more cautious, because we’ve seen this movie before and the big question is whether the Chinese side will actually deliver on what they promised.”

Trump had already made significant concessions to China before he arrived, agreeing to sell Nvidia’s advanced artificial intelligence semiconductor chips while also suspending $13 billion in arms sales to self-ruled Taiwan. That, Campbell says, is a far cry from the boastful rhetoric with which he returned to the White House last year and imposed “Liberation Day” tariffs on nearly every country in the world. But as Sino-American relations hit a low point in early 2025 and tariffs on Chinese goods continued to rise, Beijing blocked exports of key rare earth elements and strategically important minerals, threatening American manufacturing.

As the Trump administration quickly sought a way out of the crisis, China appeared to be satisfied. When Trump and Xi met on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Busan in October, the US also dropped new regulations that would have extended export controls to subsidiaries of sanctioned entities - a loophole that China had exploited to procure advanced semiconductors.

Campbell writes that Trump boasted about the grand welcome he received, but that China also benefited from the fact that a whole range of issues that have burdened relations with Washington for years have been sidelined this time. It is no secret, Campbell says, that Trump has shown little interest in religious rights, media freedom, workers' rights, the repression of Tibetans and Uighur Muslims, the erosion of freedoms in semi-autonomous Hong Kong, and even, it seems, in military aid to Russia or support for North Korea. He also adds that Trump has not attempted to seriously pressure Beijing on strategic issues such as cyber espionage, intellectual property theft, state subsidies, the undervalued renminbi, or the export of fentanyl precursors.

Time's analysis of the visit noted that Trump seemed strangely lonely despite the entourage of CEOs traveling with him. It also noted that it was the first visit by a US president since 1998 that did not include even a stopover in an allied country, either before or after his stay in China.

"Certainly, when it comes to the image that is sent to the public, Beijing has managed to create an image of its power and greatness," Chong said.

Campbell believes that Xi’s choice of words was also significant. China, he writes, is fond of touting its “partnerships” of varying degrees with dozens of countries around the world, even though in reality they are rarely equal and are largely based on pure calculation. However, when it comes to Trump, Xi has avoided even the appearance of a partnership and has spoken only of a framework of “constructive strategic stability.” In doing so, Campbell believes, he has shown that he sees the United States as a rival and that, while he does not want relations to get out of hand, he believes that China can match them.

“What China didn’t say is also important,” Sung says. “Despite all the good vibes and compliments, China today still doesn’t see the US and China as partners when it really matters.”

As Trump left Beijing on Friday afternoon, he raised his fist at the door of the presidential plane as a cheering crowd waved American flags. While Trump will undoubtedly portray the trip as a triumph, it was hard to see it as anything other than a symbolic shift at the top of global power, Time notes. Sung adds: “China has clearly positioned itself as an equal competitor to the United States.”