Trump-Xi Jinping summit: The issues - South China Morning Post

The 10 minutes with Xi Jinping that changed Donald Trump’s mind on North Korea

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 15:30:00 +0000

US President Donald Trump said he once thought Beijing had more than enough power to rein in North Korea, but changed his mind after talks last week with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Recounting his meeting with Xi in Florida and an hour-long phone call on Wednesday, Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he had “great chemistry” with the Chinese leader, a reversal of his previous anti-China rhetoric. China’s nuclear get-out clause over defence of North Korea “We like each other. I like...

Trump told Xi of Syria strikes over 'beautiful piece of chocolate cake'

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 16:17:20 +0000

US President Donald Trump informed the Chinese President Xi Jinping that he had launched missile strikes on Syria as the pair ate “the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you have ever seen”, the US president has claimed. In an interview with Fox Business, Trump offered his first account of how he had broken the news to Xi as they dined at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida at the start of a two-day bridge-building summit last Thursday. “I was sitting at the table. We had finished dinner....

China will get better US trade deal if it solves N Korea problem, says Trump

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 12:45:00 +0000

US President Donald Trump says he gave his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping an ultimatum in their meeting last week: solve the North Korea crisis and you’ll get a good trade deal. Trump tweeted on Tuesday: “I explained to the President of China that a trade deal with the U.S. will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!” He added: “North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A” North...

Xi Jinping and Donald Trump still need to find a strategic footing

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 08:31:56 +0000

It is hard to know how to assess the just-concluded Mar-a-Lago summit between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping (習近平). Should one feel exulted that an interpersonal train wreck was avoided between the two leaders, each of whom is hypersensitive about “face”? Should one feel despondent that, with so many issues crying out for cooperation, the two sides were unable to achieve and announce any significant, tangible outcomes? Or, should we sift through the detritus of the 21-hour event with...

China key in bringing North Korea back to negotiating table

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 07:03:27 +0000

China is facing the urgent task of engaging North Korea and bringing it back to the negotiating table with the United States to resolve Pyongyang’s nuclear crisis following initial talks between the Chinese and US leaders, observers say. No breakthrough in dealing with Pyongyang’s nuclear development programme, an issue that was expected to dominate discussions in the first face-to-face meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, was...

Opinion: Xi and Trump learn to split the difference on trade and North Korea

Sun, 09 Apr 2017 16:04:24 +0000

The summit between the world’s two most powerful leaders was surprisingly amicable and constructive. Both sides managed to stick to the script, projecting a shared commitment to responsibly manage their relations. US President Donald Trump and his Chinese guest, President Xi Jinping, seemed cordial, subdued and focused on the difficult task of navigating the most consequential bilateral relationship of the century. The meeting was also partly overshadowed by the White House’s decision to bombard...

Opinion: summit was not quite the meeting of equals Xi would have wanted

Sun, 09 Apr 2017 05:49:40 +0000

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day visit to US President Donald Trump’s over-the-top estate at Mar-a-Lago in Florida was meant to offer an opportunity to showcase China as an equal to the United States. Xi would ideally have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Trump, amid all the pomp and ostentatious kitsch of what Trump has called his ‘Winter White House’, and impressed on the US administration that China’s long-sought reality of a ‘G2’ of sorts with the United States was now a fait accompli...

China and US agree to top military talks to head off close armed encounters

Sat, 08 Apr 2017 11:54:21 +0000

The armed forces of China and the United States will set up a new dialogue mechanism as a further step to minimise military confrontation. President Xi Jinping said both sides should make full use of the soon-to-be-established dialogue between the joint staffs of the two countries’ armed forces. Both militaries should also “improve the existing notification mechanism on military action and the code of unexpected encounters between their navies and air forces”, state-run Xinhua quoted Xi as...

Taiwan relieved to be off Xi-Trump radar ... but how long will it last?

Sat, 08 Apr 2017 07:39:32 +0000

Taiwan breathed a sigh of relief at not being mentioned during the just concluded summit between leaders of two of the world’s major powers – the United States and China. But such relief is only temporary and served to lengthen the uncertainty looming over relations between Washington, Beijing and Taipei, making it harder for Taipei to decide its next step in its relations with the United States or the mainland, according to analysts. During their two-day summit at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm...

Xi-Trump summit ‘beats expectations’ but North Korea still a big divide

Sat, 08 Apr 2017 07:00:15 +0000

The leaders of China and the United States wrapped up their much-anticipated summit with both saying the talks put Sino-US ties on a good track – despite the bumpy diplomatic ride since US President Donald Trump’s election. The meeting on Friday yielded a bold commitment to address trade disputes and elevate their discussions, but a chasm remains over North Korea. The outcomes are symbolic but better than anticipated – Trump dropped his anti-China rhetoric, enabling President Xi Jinping to...

Your quick guide to the outcomes of landmark Xi-Trump summit

Sat, 08 Apr 2017 03:53:02 +0000

President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump have concluded their two-day talks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. During the visit, Trump ditched his trademark anti-China bombast, hailing the “tremendous progress” made in Sino-US relations and saying he had developed a friendship with Xi. Both sides pledged to deepen bilateral ties and reached consensus on several thorny issues. Analysing the statements released by the two sides after the event, we give you a summary of the...

Xi, Trump agree on trade, military talks but appear at odds over North Korea

Sat, 08 Apr 2017 02:15:30 +0000

China and the US have wrapped up their two-day presidential summit with a bold 100-day plan to tackle their trade disputes and explore new ways to enhance military dialogue. But the two sides appeared to be at odds over how to deal with North Korea, even though both agreed to rein in the reclusive state’s nuclear weapons programme. US sends message to North Korea with missile strike on Syria US President Donald Trump dropped his anti-China rhetoric during talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi...

Opinion: Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are at an impasse on how to deal with North Korea

Sat, 08 Apr 2017 01:36:07 +0000

Xi Jinping’s meeting with America’s volatile new president promises some measure of clarity as to how the North Korean issue will play out between Beijing and Washington in the coming years. By now, most readers will have formed strong views about US threats of a pre-emptive strike on North Korea, or the unavoidable controversy over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system and its attendant strategic and commercial anxieties. But less clear than either of these rather...

Trump tells Xi of Syria missile attack over Thursday night dinner in Mar-a-Lago

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 18:45:30 +0000

China’s President Xi Jinping and his delegation left US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida after agreeing to cooperate on trade initiatives and efforts to denuclearize North Korea. Xi also clinched a plan to have his American counterpart visit China later this year. The 24-hour visit defied expectations among some analysts that a meeting so soon into Trump’s tenure risked damaging relations between the world’s two largest economies. “The two leaders had positive...

China suggests new platform for regular dialogue with US

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 16:03:35 +0000

Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the door for new dialogue between China and the United States on many of their thorniest issues – including trade and cybersecurity – on the first day of his summit with US President Donald Trump, who welcomed him warmly as a friend. Xi’s proposal for four parallel consultation mechanisms would replace the now-defunct Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) which helped contain divergent and often conflicting interests between the two nations through regular...

US sends message to North Korea with missile strike on Syria

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 11:30:00 +0000

Washington’s air strikes against the Syrian government while US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping dined in Florida would serve not only as a warning to the unruly North Korean regime, but also pile pressure on Pyongyang’s ally Beijing, diplomatic and military experts say. Rising tensions over North Korea’s accelerated nuclear armament programme are expected to top the summit agenda for both leaders, especially at their formal meeting on Friday. US urges China to take...

Syria missile strike may ease pressure on Xi-Trump summit, say analysts

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 08:00:15 +0000

The US military strike against Syria has overshadowed the first face-to-face meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump, but it may take the heat off the Trump administration to act tougher in talks with China, observers said. The US attacked a Syrian airbase with a barrage of cruise missiles as Trump was hosting Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday. The strike was in response to suspected chemical attack against civilians in...

Donald Trump accepts Xi Jinping’s invitation to visit China

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 07:15:00 +0000

US President Donald Trump has accepted his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping’s invitation to visit China, state-media reported on Friday. State-run Xinhua news agency made the announcement as the two leaders are meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Why the Xi-Trump summit is a high-stakes gamble Xi arrived in Florida for the summit with Trump on Thursday, US time. He and his wife Peng Liyuan attended a welcome dinner hosted by Trump and his wife Melania. Ahead of the dinner,...

Trump says he’s developed friendship with Xi as first day of US-China summit ends

Thu, 06 Apr 2017 19:15:15 +0000

US President Donald Trump said at a summit meeting with Xi Jinping that he would have a very strong relationship with the Chinese president and the two men have already developed a friendship. Trump’s comments came towards the end of the first day of the two heads of states’ meetings in Florida and as the US launched a surprise cruise missile attack on targets in Syria. Why the Xi-Trump summit is a high-stakes gamble During a photo shoot for the press before the two presidents dined at Trump’s...

Bannon’s removal from US National Security Council a relief for China ... but only for now

Thu, 06 Apr 2017 08:02:04 +0000

The removal of US President Donald Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon, who is known for his tough rhetoric against China, from the National Security Council will provide short-term relief to Beijing, but Sino-US ties still face uncertainty, observers say. The removal of Bannon on Thursday may reduce hawkish voices towards China, and the decision was announced ahead of the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and President Xi Jinping at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump dumps chief...

Will Trump echo Xi’s words in leaders’ first meeting?

Wed, 05 Apr 2017 22:00:00 +0000

US President Donald Trump could echo one of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s favourite catchphrases during their first meeting on Thursday in Florida, in exchange for concessions from Beijing over North Korea and Trump’s other priorities such as the trade imbalance between the countries, diplomatic experts say. Such an unprecedented trade-off between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies on the “new type of great power relations” is expected to appear in a joint statement at the end of...

Why the Xi-Trump summit is a high-stakes gamble

Wed, 05 Apr 2017 16:00:00 +0000

This week’s summit between President Xi Jinping and US counterpart Donald Trump has rekindled an old debate about the meaning of diplomacy. Summit diplomacy is perceived differently in Beijing and Washington, with Chinese diplomats appearing to attach more importance to protocol and American ones preferring to focus on substance over form, and that raises the stakes enormously. Gu Su, an expert on mainland politics from Nanjing University, said the debate might boil down to differences in...

Trump team, wary of China, seeks friendly buyer for nuclear energy provider Westinghouse Electric

Wed, 05 Apr 2017 12:51:19 +0000

The Trump administration is so alarmed that Chinese investors may try to purchase Westinghouse Electric’s nuclear business that US officials are trying to find an American or allied buyer for the company instead, two people familiar with the matter say. Cabinet members including Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have discussed preventing Westinghouse’s purchase by a Chinese-linked company, three US officials said. The administration is preparing for Westinghouse...

Will dream shared by Xi Jinping and Donald Trump become a nightmare?

Wed, 05 Apr 2017 04:01:27 +0000

The Chinese and US presidents both dream of national rejuvenation, and that could be a nightmare scenario for Sino-US relations. US President Donald Trump, a billionaire real estate developer, won election last year with his populist pledge to “Make America Great Again”. China’s Xi Jinping (習近平), a Communist Party “princeling”, has amassed great power four years into his first term as party chief with his nationalistic appeal for realisation of a “Chinese dream”. As both men consolidate their...

Will Taiwan be a pawn in Trump’s ‘game of chess’ with Xi Jinping at landmark summit?

Wed, 05 Apr 2017 03:49:48 +0000

Taiwan’s government is casting a wary eye on the two-day summit between US President Donald Trump and his mainland counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday and Friday fearing the talks may harm the island’s interests. Taipei fears Trump could use the island as a bargaining chip with Xi to force concessions on other issues such as trade, weakening Taiwan’s long-standing alliance with the US. The US president angered Beijing by suggesting that he would not be bound by decades of protocol in recognising...

What Trump and Xi will be looking for when they meet

Wed, 05 Apr 2017 00:03:35 +0000

China and the United States’ leaders finally meet this week in Florida after some tough rhetoric from Donald Trump ahead of the summit. Both sides stress the meetings will be informal, similar to President Xi Jinping’s discussions with Barack Obama at the Sunnylands estate in California four years ago. Here are the main issues each president will be raising and what they will be hoping to achieve. DONALD TRUMP: 1. North Korea Trump has blamed China for not doing enough to rein in North Korea’s...

Trump to tell Xi that diplomatic efforts to stop North Korea have run their course

Tue, 04 Apr 2017 21:51:32 +0000

US President Donald Trump will warn Chinese President Xi Jinping that diplomatic efforts to halt North Korea’s missile tests and nuclear capabilities have run their course and that China should use economic measures to subdue Pyongyang. Trump will use his upcoming summit with Xi at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida as an opportunity to discuss North Korea and other security and economic issues, a senior White House official said in a briefing with foreign media. “The clock has now...

Americans OK with China but not with Xi, according to poll

Tue, 04 Apr 2017 14:10:48 +0000

Americans’ overall impressions of China have improved, although economic conflicts between the two countries remain a major source of unease, according to a poll released by a US research centre ahead of President Xi Jinping’s first meeting with his US counterpart, Donald Trump. But Xi, who will arrive in the US on Thursday to meet Trump, gets largely negative ratings from Americans. Sixty per cent of the poll respondents said they had little or no confidence in him to do the right thing in...

‘If US sees China as enemy…’: Xi-Trump summit proves a testing time for Chinese-Americans

Tue, 04 Apr 2017 06:15:00 +0000

Few Chinese-Americans tuning in for news of this week’s summit meeting between presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump have ever had to make a choice over where their national loyalties lie. Many were not even born in the years when each side branded the other enemy number one and racial epithets were acceptable even in polite society. China and the US have enjoyed nearly 40 years of relatively stable diplomatic relations. Tensions have flared, to be sure. The pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen...

Xi Jinping’s chance to turn infrastructure into a new building block for Sino-US ties

Mon, 03 Apr 2017 15:00:45 +0000

Chinese President Xi Jinping has the chance this week to lay the groundwork for a new era in the often-fraught Sino-US relationship, with infrastructure potentially replacing climate change as the cornerstone for cooperation between the two countries, according to diplomatic analysts. Observers said Xi should promote his signature “One Belt, One Road” initiative to revive trade along ancient routes when he meets his US counterpart, Donald Trump, for a two-day summit in Florida from...

Opinion: why the Xi-Trump summit in Florida will be one for the history books

Mon, 03 Apr 2017 12:38:52 +0000

And so, at long last, Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet his unconventional and bombastic US counterpart Donald Trump. The two leaders will meet at an informal summit hosted on Thursday and Friday at Trump’s estate in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. With the stakes as high as ever in the relationship between the world’s foremost superpower and its burgeoning rival, the Mar-a-Lago summit stands to be historic. Although neither side has exactly clarified the agenda for the Trump-Xi talks,...

Can Xi Jinping and Donald Trump show maturity when it matters, despite their contrasting styles?

Mon, 03 Apr 2017 09:40:26 +0000

When Donald Trump was a boy, his parents apparently concluded he needed discipline. So they sent him to a military school. What he was taught apparently did not stick, however, judging from his chaotic behaviour as an adult and now as president of the United States. When Xi Jinping ( 習近平 ) was a boy, he experienced the life-threatening chaos of the Cultural Revolution at first hand and learned to subjugate and discipline himself. Now, as China’s Communist Party general secretary and the nation’s...

US urges China to take 'action' against North Korea

Sun, 02 Apr 2017 15:13:55 +0000

The United States will “put pressure” on China to take action against North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the US ambassador to the United Nations said Sunday, days before a high profile visit by China’s president. “The only country that can stop North Korea is China and they know that,” Ambassador Nikki Haley told ABC in an interview broadcast on Sunday. “We’re going to continue to put pressure on China to have action.” Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet Donald Trump on April 6...

High hopes for clearer US stand on hi-tech investment in China ahead of Xi-Trump summit

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 15:45:30 +0000

The US might agree to clear up some grey areas over which technologies American firms are barred from selling to China, allowing them more access to the mainland economy as the two countries look for ways to spur bilateral investment, according to a former Chinese diplomat. If both sides can reach a deal on the issue, it would be one achievement President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump could deliver at their summit in Florida next week. Lifting restrictions on “dual-use...

Trump to sign executive orders targeting trade abuses

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 04:30:40 +0000

President Donald Trump talked tough on trade on the campaign trail, vowing to renegotiate a slew of major deals and to label China a currency manipulator on “Day One”. Now his administration appears to be taking a more cautious approach. On Friday, the president will sign a pair of executive orders aimed at cracking down on trade abuses, according to top administration officials. The first calls for the completion of a large-scale report to identify “every form of trade abuse and every...

Beijing speaks softly ahead of Xi-Trump summit after US president anticipates ‘difficult’ meeting

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 03:36:33 +0000

Beijing is striking a cordial tone for the first summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump next week, while defending its trade practices after Trump tweeted that the meeting would be “a very difficult one”. According to the tweets by the US president, his meeting with Xi at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on April 6 and 7 would not be easy “in that we can no longer have massive trade deficits ... and job losses.” Trump added: “American companies must be...

Xi and Trump tipped to play down Taiwan at Florida summit

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 00:01:57 +0000

Beijing will push to further marginalise Taiwan in the Sino-US relationship during next week’s summit between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump, observers say. The summit is expected to be dominated by trade issues and North Korea’s nuclear development, but the leaders may agree to play down Taiwan, observers on the mainland and self-ruled island said. “It’s inevitable for Taiwan to be marginalised since the two countries have more important issues to discuss, said Tang...

US, Japan risk China’s ire courting Taiwan ahead of Trump-Xi summit

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 07:30:00 +0000

The US and Japan are taking steps toward upgrading ties with Taiwan, risking a dispute with China as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping prepare for their first meeting in Florida next week. The two allies have made a series of moves signalling more direct relations with the diplomatically isolated island even after Trump reaffirmed the US’s long-standing policy recognising that both sides were part of “one China”. In the last week alone, Taiwan has seen its US envoy share a Washington stage with...

What to expect from Xi-Trump summit

Sat, 25 Mar 2017 09:30:15 +0000

President Xi Jinping and US counterpart Donald Trump are expected to take the first steps in building a personal relationship at their upcoming summit meeting, but observers have cautioned that distrust over key geopolitical issues will be tough to overcome. The two countries’ interests diverged sharply in key areas, they said, with Trump’s unpredictability likely to add to uncertainties, but they do hold out some hope for progress on trade and economic issues. The summit is set to be held at...

North Korea is behaving badly ... and China’s not helping, Donald Trump tweets

Fri, 17 Mar 2017 13:30:45 +0000

US President Donald Trump tweeted criticism of North Korea, saying the nation was “behaving badly” and blamed China for doing little to help, just a day before US State Secretary Rex Tillerson is due to arrive in Beijing. North Korea is behaving very badly. They have been "playing" the United States for years. China has done little to help! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2017 “North Korea is behaving very badly, they have been “playing”...

US State Secretary Rex Tillerson fires warning of pre-emptive US military strike on North Korea

Fri, 17 Mar 2017 02:30:45 +0000

A day before his planned arrival in Beijing on Saturday, US State Secretary Rex Tillerson said that the US might take pre-emptive military action against North Korea if its threats to the United States and South Korea escalated. Tillerson’s warning – the toughest remarks yet by a Trump administration official against Pyongyang – was followed by a tweet from US President Donald Trump accusing North Korea of “behaving badly” and China of “doing little”. Speaking in Seoul after visiting the...