The Guardian view on Trump and Xi: a present of friendship, however no actual try to deal with the tensions | Editorial
Within days, two high-profile Chinese guests will arrive within the US – envoys of friendship, as Xi Jinping described them when he met Donald Trump on the White House this week. The large pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, will likely be hosted at Atlanta zoo. Beijing dispatched the primary panda pair to the US in 1972 following President Richard Nixon’s landmark go to to China. It makes use of the animals to point out satisfaction or displeasure with different nations. But it additionally expenses heftily for his or her lease: reportedly, around $1m a year per pair. Americans’ views of China have warmed from a pandemic nadir, however are unlikely to be shifted a lot by two animals, nevertheless charming. These days they’re extra of a token gesture than a placing image.
It is telling that the announcement was one of many main takeaways of Mr Xi’s visit to Washington. Expectations had been low after May’s stalemate summit in Beijing, however this assembly nonetheless struggled to satisfy them. The US president gave Mr Xi a lavish welcome – unusually, travelling to satisfy the “robust, vibrant and match” Chinese chief off the airplane. He insisted that that they had “by no means gotten alongside higher”.
In a way that’s not shocking. Mr Trump admires and envies authoritarians with untrammelled powers. Chinese state media had been welcome on the White House, in contrast to CNN, MS Now and Politico. Since he not often pays even lip service to human rights, the remedy of Uyghurs or jailed Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong – facing another lengthy sentence for his cross-border advocacy – had been by no means prone to determine giant, regardless of the hopes of protesters outside.
Mr Trump instructed Mr Xi that any Chinese assist for Iran is unacceptable; Mr Xi stated that the US ought to adhere to the “appropriate place” of opposing Taiwanese independence. Beijing desires Washington to shift from the long-held stance of “not supporting” it. That can be a grave mistake, however Mr Trump has given worryingly blended messages on Taiwan.
It is placing how little of consequence has emerged from the summit provided that that is arguably probably the most consequential diplomatic relationship within the global community. A two-month extension of the commerce struggle truce was introduced as Mr Xi arrived within the US. China’s curb of uncommon earth exports has checked Mr Trump’s urge for food for an financial offensive; Beijing is anxious about its struggling macro economy. But if they’re extra cautious of the fallout, they’re additionally extra frightened of the opposite facet gaining floor. AI is central to this battle. Mr Trump has resisted all calls to restrain growth as a result of “Whoever wins AI, wins.” Mr Xi stated it needed to be managed responsibly, however Beijing has attacked “risk narratives”, fearing that the US desires to forestall it catching up.
CNN final week highlighted the hazards: the US navy reportedly prepared to intercept a Chinese ship within the Middle East after an intelligence report stated it was carrying nuclear weapons parts – just for officers to understand that the partially AI-generated evaluation had misidentified the cargo. Controls on growth are desperately wanted, however neither facet is prepared to simply accept them. Even the restricted AI dialogue and “notification hotline” for AI security proposed by Scott Bessent, treasury secretary, appear to be quite less than meets the eye. This summit ought to be seen with alarm not as a result of it noticed substantive developments – however as a result of it illustrates the hazards of drift.
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