Trump's Momentous China Trip a Bust, Amidst Cordial But Unimpressed Xi
But while the trip generated some useful optics, and Trump and his claque appeared mostly well-behaved and conducted themselves respectfully relative to visits to other subordinate vassal-states, by all appearances it would seem none of the goals were achieved. Trump came to genuflect to Xi, and while Xi received him with modest respect, the Chinese leader openly called the US a “declining power” to Trump’s face, which Trump classlessly blamed on none other than—guess who?—Biden:
Trump claimed “fantastic trade deals” being struck, citing 200 Boeing planes purchased by China and other high-end goodies, but all the details remained scarce, vague, and notional, as is now standard with Trump summits.
From the above:Nobody is telling you how limited the actual results were from Trump’s China trip, despite all the photos and CEO presence.
— 🇺🇸 Ronald Carter (@USronaldcarter) May 15, 2026
Everyone saw Musk, Huang, and Cook in Beijing. Everyone heard Trump say “fantastic trade deals.”
Nobody is talking about what actually moved and what… pic.twitter.com/8hvJ5bSuNR
Nobody is talking about what actually moved and what didn’t.
→ China agreed to buy 200 Boeing jets — below some pre-trip expectations
→ New dialogue board created, but no binding structural changes
→ Trade truce continued, but no resolution on the core economic model differences
→ Tech access signals given, but advanced chips remain blocked
→ Personal relationship improved, but Taiwan and strategic competition untouched
In fact, the only gains appeared to be on China’s side, as Trump subsequently dimmed his rhetoric on Taiwan, implying to interviewers that the US shouldn’t intervene there as Taiwan is a tiny rock 9,000 miles away, and that China holds all the advantages in the dynamic anyway.
Trump’s hinted-at plan, however, is a good one—for America, that is: offload anything of worth in Taiwan to the US—namely, TSMC—and let China have the rest. This has been a long-standing plan we’ve discussed here before, and a natural way to divvy up Taiwan between the superpowers. That said, TSMC has clearly already tried to establish product lines in the US to, so far, mixed results for known reasons.
In reality, Trump’s visit to China appeared to be a desperate entreaty for Chinese intervention in the Iran and Hormuz debacle, with the hopes that any signed deals would give Trump some favorable PR swings to his catastrophically spiraling publicity of late. As always, the spectacle created some superficially positive optics, with no real substance beneath the surface. The true optics winner ended up being China, as the world watched a desperate-looking Trump “super team” drag themselves before Xi’s feet for the meager hopes of earning a conciliatory blessing or two.
During the visit, Trump appeared exceptionally insecure and covetous of Xi’s praise and attention. This was highlighted by an embarrassing moment wherein Trump thought himself exclusive inheritor to a singular Chinese honor, only to find out that Putin had already received it before him:
Trump wanted to feel important after Xi invited him to Zhongnanhai (sacred Chinese HQ), so he asked if any other world leaders had been there.
Xi told him it was rare... but that Putin had visited several times.
Politico picked up on this:
President Donald Trump is arriving in Beijing in a role that he isn’t used to — a supplicant asking for favors.
“It’s the shrinking summit,” said Zack Cooper, a former assistant to the deputy national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration, who regularly meets with administration and Chinese officials. “It’s pretty clear the Trump team is in a very difficult position and it’s very possible Trump goes to Beijing preoccupied and weakened.”
Many other outlets have had similar takes:
AlterNet: "The despised Trump is becoming even more despised and weak after his trip to China."
Xi Jinping criticized Trump on the issue of Taiwan, while Trump received no help on Iran or any other issue, despite his repeated praise of the Chinese president.
Weakened by the war of attrition in Iran, Trump invited leaders of technology companies such as Elon Musk and Tim Cook for talks on artificial intelligence and minerals, but returned empty-handed and without any achievements in the field of artificial intelligence, Iran, or Taiwan.
Trump's trip once again turned the United States into a laughingstock on the international stage, showing how he is weakening his own country and strengthening his rival, China.
From the article above, this part was certainly true for anyone that watched Trump’s uncharacteristically fulsome gushing:
But when Trump got to China, he told Xi, “You’re a great leader. I say it to everybody: you’re a great leader. Sometimes, people don’t like me saying it, but I say it anyway because it’s true. I only say the truth.”
He gushed and gushed: “It’s an honor to be with you. It’s an honor to be your friend.”
The Chinese leader didn’t return the accolades.
At no time did Xi call Trump a great president or even acknowledge any positive personal qualities about him. Xi was not about to lie on the world stage nor let his people see him bowing to Trump with phony commendations. Chinese citizens had been mocking Trump in memes that went viral as he arrived, sarcastically using the nickname Chuan Jianguo, “nation builder,” for Trump—meaning his reckless policies in the US and with regard to European allies help build the nation of China.
Putin is now scheduled to visit China in days as well; but let’s be honest, if it was Putin dragging a super-hero-like lineup of Russia’s top industry titans and tech-entrepreneurs there, it would be widely read in the West as a cowed and desperate Putin “selling off his country” to China in the hopes of propping up his “ailing and failing” economy. When Trump does the same, it’s hailed as some kind of landmark and generational inroads, despite Trump acting uncharacteristically docile and pacified in Xi’s preeminent presence.
And contrary to Trump’s visit, on the Putin-Xi summit agenda is something interesting.
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