US President says China visit could mark historic turning point in ties between Washington and Beijing…reports Asian Lite News desk
Donald Trump returned to the United States on Friday following a high profile visit to China, describing his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping as a meeting between leaders of “two great countries”.
Trump arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after a brief refuelling stop in Alaska and claimed the trip had resulted in major trade agreements, including a deal involving China’s purchase of 200 Boeing aircraft with a commitment for another 750 in the future. He also said agreements had been reached that would benefit American farmers and the agricultural sector.
Speaking to Fox News after his meeting with Xi on Thursday, Trump said the visit marked a significant moment in relations between the world’s two largest powers.
“It’s the two great countries. I call it the G-2. This is the G-2. I think it’ll go down as a very important moment in history,” Trump said.
According to The Washington Post, Trump’s remarks effectively placed China on equal footing with the United States, something Beijing has long sought to achieve diplomatically.
The newspaper reported that the carefully choreographed meetings and displays of mutual respect between Trump and Xi highlighted a geopolitical shift that Chinese leaders had pursued for years but successive American administrations had resisted.
Trump also suggested that tensions over Taiwan could remain stable while he remained in office.
“It’s not a takeover. They just don’t want to see this place — we’ll call it a place because nobody knows how to define it — but they don’t want to see it go independent,” Trump said in the interview.
“I don’t think they’ll do anything when I’m here. When I’m not here, I think they might, to be honest with you,” he added.
The US President said he wanted Beijing to “cool down” and stressed that Washington was not seeking conflict with China.
“We’re not looking to have wars, and if you kept it the way it is, I think China’s going to be OK with that,” Trump said.
Trump also revealed that he had invited Xi to visit Washington in September as the two leaders prepare for what could be several more meetings later this year.
Analysts quoted by major American newspapers said the visit represented a diplomatic success for Xi, who has sought to project China as an equal global power alongside the United States.
Julian Gewirtz, who served as China director on the National Security Council during the administration of former President Joe Biden, told The Washington Post that Xi had achieved a long standing goal.
“Xi has done something Chinese leaders have been working toward for decades — bringing an American president to Beijing as an undisputed peer,” Gewirtz said.
“Xi used the opulent optics of the visit to make clear to the world that China and the United States are the two dominant, equally matched superpowers. There is no going back.”
Chinese state media heavily promoted Trump’s warm remarks about Xi and the Chinese people, according to The New York Times.
John Delury, a senior fellow at the Asia Society, told the newspaper the messaging was aimed at showing Chinese audiences that relations with the United States were improving.
However, some former American officials expressed concern about Trump’s approach. R. Nicholas Burns, who served as US ambassador to China during the Biden administration, told The New York Times that while diplomacy was important, Trump should also have been more direct about American concerns regarding Taiwan and regional security.
Trump and Xi are expected to meet at least three more times this year, including possible meetings during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen in November and the G20 summit in Miami in December.
Former Biden administration officials Rush Doshi and Kurt Campbell described the summit as more symbolic than substantive, saying it was focused on managing tensions rather than resolving the major disputes between Washington and Beijing.
