WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump, returning from a visit to China, described his talks with President Xi Jinping as a meeting between the leaders of “two great countries.”
On Friday night, Trump landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, a suburb of the U.S. capital, claiming important trade deals had been reached, including China’s purchase of 200 aircraft from Boeing and a commitment to buy 750 more planes, as well as agreements that would benefit the U.S. agricultural sector.
The President of the United States arrived here after a brief refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska.
“These are two great countries. I call it the G-2. This is the G-2. I think this is going to be a very important moment in history,” Trump told Fox News in an interview after meeting with Xi Jinping on Thursday.
The Washington Post reported that Trump’s speech put China and the United States on equal footing, which is the purpose of Xi Jinping’s visit.
“The two-day meeting, with carefully choreographed pageantry and gestures of friendship and respect between the two most powerful men in the world, showcased a geopolitical dynamic that the Chinese have long desired and Americans have resisted,” the Washington Post said.
Trump told Fox News that the relationship with Xi Jinping is important and suggested that China may not take any aggressive action against Taiwan, at least until he takes office.
“This is not a takeover. They just don’t want to see this place – we call it a place because no one knows how to define it – but they don’t want to see it independent,” Trump said.
“When I’m here, I don’t think they’re going to do anything. When I’m not here. To be honest, I think they’re probably going to do anything,” Trump said.
“I hope they calm down. I hope China calms down,” he said.
“We don’t want a war and if the status quo remains, I think China will accept it,” he added.
The US president said he has invited Xi Jinping to visit Washington in September.
“Xi Jinping has done what Chinese leaders have been trying to do for decades — bring an American president to Beijing as an undisputed peer,” said Julian Gewirtz, who served as China director on the National Security Council under President Joe Biden.
“Xi Jinping used the gorgeous visuals of this visit to show the world that China and the United States are two dominant and evenly matched superpowers. There is no turning back.”
The New York Times quoted John Drewry, a senior fellow at the Asia Society, as saying that Trump’s friendly remarks about Xi Jinping and the Chinese people were amplified in Chinese state media, sending the message that “we get along better with Americans.”
The New York Times quoted Nicholas Burns, the ambassador to China during the Biden administration, as saying that it is understandable that Trump wants to be polite to Xi Jinping, but the US president’s garrulous approach “weakens Trump and the United States.”
“Xi Jinping did not hesitate to warn Trump about Taiwan. Trump should also not hesitate to confess our concerns,” he said.
Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to meet at least three times this year.
The US president has invited Xi Jinping to visit the White House in September.
Trump may travel to Shenzhen, China, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference in November. Xi Jinping is likely to attend the G20 summit in Miami in December.
“This is yet another summit that is more symbolic than substantive – focused on managing issues rather than resolving the problems that exist between the United States and China,” said Rush Doshi, the former deputy senior director for China and Taiwan on the National Security Council in the Biden administration.
“The way both leaders are talking about the future suggests that this is going to be part of the process that’s going to unfold this year,” said Kurt Campbell, a former deputy secretary of state in the Biden administration.
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
