Donald Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping is expected to focus on trade, AI, Iran, Taiwan and global power rivalry. Commentators see limited chances for major breakthroughs, noting China’s strategic advantage in rare earths and technology. While some stress the need for cooperation on global crises, ot
Kyiv Post
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US President Donald Trump will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this Thursday and Friday to discuss key political and economic issues such as the Iran war, Taiwan, global trade and AI. Commentators look at whether the two-day visit could serve to ease tensions or resolve conflicts.
Trump won’t get very far here, La Stampa predicts (Italy):
“While Trump’s first term in office marked the beginning of the rivalry between the United States and China, the second was supposed to cement US dominance. The opposite is the case, as will likely be in evidence at the summit between the presidents of the two nations in Bejing. Donald Trump has started and lost two wars against China: a trade war and the war in the Middle East. ... Beijing is probably prepared to make minor concessions: ... on buying soya, gas or aircraft, or Chinese investment in America. But basically, Xi will concede little or nothing of what Trump expects, starting with the idea of China putting pressure on Iran to back down.”
No choice but to collaborate
The two superpowers are dependent on one another, Naftemporiki points out (Greece):
“US industry cannot function without Chinese rare earths, whose value amounts to 1.2 trillion dollars, the equivalent of four percent of the US’s GDP. But it is equally true that the Chinese economy cannot survive without exports to the United States. And this is the card that Trump has in his hand. Of course, Bejing can sell its products to lots of other parts of the world, but without exports to the US it would have to rethink all its five-, ten- or fifteen-year plans and, in all likelihood, prepare for a recession. ... However much they dislike each other, Trump and Xi will have to reach an agreement. And that is in the interest of the whole world.”
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Hopelessly trumped
The Handelsblatt sees Trump travelling to Bejing with his begging bowl (Germany):
“Only China, Iran’s key ally and greatest oil importer, would be in a position to put real pressure on Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. If the great chairman were to stoop to such a thing, it would boost his country’s reputation enormously. ... It’s certainly a while since the US president has talked about keeping China in check. That, however, is mainly down to the fact that the great dealmaker in the White House had overlooked a small but not entirely insignificant detail: China has a monopoly on the raw materials that are essential to the US tech industry: rare earths. So Trump has been hopelessly trumped here too.”
A chance to act responsibly
The meeting offers an opportunity to build trust, argues Le Temps (Switzerland):
“A few safeguards need to be put in place to stabilise this relationship and avoid an escalation that could rock the whole world. So far the two countries have managed to pull this off without major problems. A solution to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could be the pretext for re-establishing a minimum of trust, most notably in military communication. ... In exchange for commercial concessions from Washington, Beijing could lean on Tehran and help Trump get out of the mess he has got himself into. It would be a chance to demonstrate that, despite their rivalries, the two powers can also act responsibly. ”
Only one side knows what it wants
China has a strategy – unlike the US, notes the Tages-Anzeiger (Switzerland):
“Confusion can also be a weapon. But Donald Trump has made such frequent use of this tactic that the US seems to have confused itself. ... China, on the other hand, knows exactly what it wants: key technologies, autonomous supply chains, less dependence on the West. Washington’s China policy seems to have confused movement with strategy. But if you don’t know what you want, it’s easy to sell you something as a success that is nothing of the sort. Given these circumstances, Xi Jinping may well have already decided the outcome of his meeting with Trump in Beijing before it has even begun.”
Cooperate instead of waging virtual war
The world is facing fundamental challenges that call for cooperation between the major powers, writes Libération (France):
“On the one hand, we have climate change and its consequences – wars over water, increasing migration flows and pandemics. On the other hand, there’s the AI revolution. … Both could potentially be catastrophic. No single power can tackle them alone. … International cooperation is essential to prevent the worst from happening. … Yet China and the United States are engaged in a technological arms race over AI and space – the first clashes in a virtual war. ... It’s hard to imagine cooperation between the unpredictable US, which is trying to preserve its waning hegemony, and a China that wants to restore the ‘Middle Kingdom’.”
Gradual shift in dominance
While the US flounders, China is systematically improving its global standing, writes Postimees (Estonia):
“China does not need to destroy America directly. It can simply stand by as the US fragments its own power. While Washington has to react to new crises day after day, Beijing is patiently developing infrastructure for the next century. History teaches us that great powers fail not so much when they are weak, but when they can no longer distinguish between what is important and what is not. Perhaps the most significant question in today’s world is this: is America still aware that its main adversary is not in Tehran, but in Beijing?”
The next crucial strait
Economics expert Alicia García Herrero explains the global dimension of the Taiwan issue in El País (Spain):
“The Taiwan Strait is the lifeline through which the most important resource for artificial intelligence flows. ... Taiwan produces over 90 percent of the world’s most advanced semiconductors – the chips that power AI data centres, cutting-edge weapons systems and the digital infrastructure of Western democracies. A crisis in the Taiwan Strait would have consequences comparable to the Strait of Hormuz blockade – or worse. ... Trump’s negotiations with Xi Jinping will not only determine the future of an island with 23 million inhabitants, but also the balance of power for decades to come.”
Bad news when anti-democrats unite
NRC hopes that the summit will not lead to closer ties (Netherlands):
“The better Trump and Xi get on, the higher the price the rest of the world will have to pay. And conversely, the fewer tangible agreements the two power blocs reach, the better it will be for the rest of the world. If the two leaders of the most powerful countries don’t (or no longer) recognise the fundamental principles of a democratic constitutional state, then the rest of the world has a duty to uphold those principles. Reliability, predictability and legal systems that everyone adheres to have helped the world to move forward in the last centuries.”
