 "Trump, Xi ‘see eye to eye’ after 6 years — but it’s truce without treaty")
In their first meeting in six years, US President Donald Trump settled for an uneasy truce with Chinese leader Xi Jinping instead of any expansive treaty. But it was apparent the truce was on Xi’s terms.
In exchange of access to China's rare earth elements and magnets, Trump conceded on a host of critical issues from the Russian war on Ukraine and Taiwan and allowed Xi to leave the meeting victorious.
From the onset, it was apparent that Xi had joined the meeting with an upper hand. While Trump praised Xi and talked of the possibilities, Xi flagged upfront that the United States and China “do not always see eye to eye” because of their national differences. He said that such differences should not prevent cooperation.
“You and I should stay the right course. I always believe China’s development goes hand in hand with your vision to make America great again. China and the US should be partners and friends,” said Xi.
What Xi really meant was that China will continue on its belligerent path unapologetically and the United States will have to make peace with that. And Trump acquiesced — as his comments after the meeting showed.
Trump rates meeting ‘12 out of 10’ after conceding to Xi on Ukraine, Taiwan
After Trump conceded to Xi on the Russian war on Ukraine and tensions in the Taiwan strait, he said he would give 12 out of 10 marks to their meeting.
When asked if Trump pressed Xi about China’s support to Russia in its war on Ukraine, Trump simply said, “He’s been buying oil from Russia for a long time.”
China, the biggest buyer of Russian oil, is the principal supporter of the Russian war on Ukraine. China buys Russian oil, provides drones, provides dual-use technology, provides machinery, and sustains Russia’s consumer economy. In short, China is Russia's economic lifeline.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAnd, yet, Trump has not punished Russia for driving the Russian war on Ukraine whereas he has slapped 50 per cent tariffs on India.
In another concession, Trump said they did not discuss Taiwan at all.
“Taiwan never came up, it was not discussed actually,” said Trump.
As for the war in Ukraine, Trump simply said that the subject came up “very strongly” in the meeting and they talked about it for a long time.
“We’re both going to work together to see if we can get something done,” said Trump without going into details.
Trump walks out with consolation prize
Despite the optimism, Trump and Xi did not sign any deal in the meeting.
Instead, Trump said after the meeting that the United States and China could sign the deal “pretty soon” and that there were not many hurdles left.
The only gain for Trump was Xi’s promise to withhold the rare earths-related export curbs for a year.
In another victory for Xi, Trump confirmed he will visit China in April, and will then host Xi in the United States at an unspecified date.
Without going into the specifics, Trump said he and Xi came to an “outstanding group of decisions” on issues like soyabeans and fentanyl.
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