Xi Lands in Washington for Three Days of Pomp and Low Expectations
Mr Trump will greet Xi Jinping and his wife on the tarmac at the Maryland base that hosts Air Force One this evening, opening the Chinese leader’s first American visit in nearly three years. The choreography runs to a military ceremony with flyovers, a visit to the National Archives and a Thursday state dinner expected to seat Tim Cook, Jensen Huang and Sam Altman. Hopes of a breakthrough are slim; the eleven-month trade truce expires in November.
Thursday’s talks could still yield sector-specific tariff cuts, cooperation on narcotics, expanded military-to-military contact and more AI dialogue, with Mr Trump expected to press for the release of detained Americans. But the two principals arrive from opposite trajectories: a president whose approval is falling as discontent over the Iran war grows, and a leader whose trade engine is running hot. Edgard Kagan of CSIS put the asymmetry plainly — Xi “very much believes the US is in hurtling decline, and that time is on China’s side”. Taiwan is the subject Beijing will raise and Washington would rather avoid. Watch for whether the frozen $14bn arms package is mentioned at all.