In Washington, Xi got the word he wanted

BEIJING – Consider the optics: the putative leader of the free world showing the foundational texts of American democracy to the world’s most powerful communist leader, beneath the marble dome of the National Archives in Washington.

In an earlier era of US-China relations, such a setting might have invited the familiar ideological sparring: Washington invoking universal values and Beijing warning against interference in its internal affairs.

But US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would have none of that.

On Sept 25, the last day of Xi’s state visit, Trump matter-of-factly contrasted America’s 250 years of independence with China’s 6,000 years of civilisation at the National Archives. Xi made a broader point: The two countries might have different histories, systems and development paths, but their peoples shared the same desire for a better life.

Respecting those differences, Xi added, was the way to keep relations stable.

That word – respect – was no throwaway.

Just before visiting the National Archives, the two leaders had agreed to add it to their description of the bilateral relationship.

When Trump visited Beijing in May, the two leaders pledged to build a “constructive relationship of strategic stability” based on fairness and reciprocity. In Washington, they added “respect” to that foundation.

That may sound like diplomatic wordsmithing. But for China, this was language that Xi had sought for more than a decade.

In 2013, he proposed a “new model of major-country relations” with the US that called for non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.

The Obama administration never fully embraced it, wary that “mutual respect” might oblige Washington to defer to Beijing on what China calls its “core interests”, including Taiwan. 

Trump has now agreed to put “respect” into the official formula for bilateral ties. That respect was visible from the moment Xi landed in the US.

Before Xi emerged from his plane at Joint Base Andrews on Sept 23, US service members got down on their hands and knees to smooth the red carpet.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump then greeted Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at the foot of the aircraft stairs – a rare tarmac welcome from a US president, who typically meets foreign leaders at the White House.

The pageantry continued the next morning, with nearly 500 service members honouring Xi with drills and fanfare at the White House. Trump’s daughter Ivanka watched the welcome ceremony in an embroidered pale-blue dress by Chinese designer Guo Pei.

That night, the state dinner began with a toast featuring a Californian sparkling wine chosen to honour then US president Richard Nixon’s 1972 Toast to Peace with then Chinese premier Zhou Enlai.

US tech titans, including Tesla’s Elon Musk, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Apple’s Tim Cook, joined Trump and Xi at the head table.

Why did Trump lavish so much attention on Xi?

Chinese analysts point to both the chemistry between the two men and a shift in the strategic arithmetic between their countries.

Wu Xinbo, director of Fudan University’s Centre for American Studies, told The Straits Times that Trump is now dealing with a China that has proved much harder to squeeze than when he launched his trade war in 2018.

“Trump has realised he needs to adjust the way he engages a China that is much more confident,” Wu said.

Is the feeling mutual?

Xi returned Trump’s warmth. During a White House tour on Sept 24, he laughed heartily when Trump drew his attention to a framed image of an autopen, displayed in place of a portrait of his predecessor and political opponent, Joe Biden.

Xi also obligingly followed Trump out of the building to admire the new granite helipad that the US President had rushed to finish before his visit.

Da Wei, an international relations professor at Tsinghua University, said: “Both leaders seem at ease and relaxed with each other. I think this shows there is some degree of trust between them.” 

With the November midterm election approaching, Trump wanted to show voters that his handling of China could bring tangible economic benefits while avoiding tariff escalation that might aggravate cost-of-living pressures.

The White House said the two sides agreed on recommendations for tariff relief covering US$30 billion (S$38 billion) of goods in each direction, that China committed to buying at least 10 million tonnes of US coal a year in 2027 and 2028 and that both sides opened channels for talks on investment and AI risks.

Xi also brought softer offerings: an invitation for 100,000 young Americans to visit China over five years, and the imminent arrival of two giant pandas at Zoo Atlanta. 

None amounts to a strategic reset. But together, they reinforced Xi’s broader message: competition need not rule out peaceful coexistence.

Some US analysts thought Trump should have pressed Xi harder to rein in Iran, ease pressure on US allies such as Japan and the Philippines, and loosen China’s rare-earth export controls. Chinese analysts, however, were broadly satisfied that Beijing got what it wanted.

One of its goals was the chance to press Trump on Taiwan. Xi urged the US to “adhere to the correct position of opposing Taiwan independence” – possibly the first time he had publicly used that formulation, according to Eurasia Group’s Qiu Mingda.

Washington says it “does not support” Taiwan independence and has not adopted Beijing’s stronger wording. But Xi had made his point: a Taiwan crisis could unravel the wider rapprochement.

Another aim was confirmation that both leaders would meet twice more before the year is out – at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting in Shenzhen in November and the Group of 20 summit in Miami in December.

Throughout this trip, Xi received the show of respect that Beijing had long sought – in words and in spectacle.

He was accorded two military flypasts: a pair of B-1B bombers over Joint Base Andrews on arrival, and then a B-2 stealth bomber flanked by four F-22 fighter jets over the White House the next morning.

During the first flypast, the sudden roar of the bombers made Trump wince, while Xi watched impassively.

A startle reflex proves nothing about national power. But the optics were hard to resist: With American might roaring overhead, Trump flinched; Xi stood unruffled – a fitting image of the confidence that the Chinese leader projected in Washington.