'Not natural friends': Trump, Xi will be
'odd couple' at first summit
Send a link to a friend
[April 04, 2017]
By David Brunnstrom, Matt Spetalnick and Ben Blanchard
WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - When U.S.
President Donald Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping this week,
their summit will be marked not only by deep policy divisions but a
clash of personalities between America’s brash “tweeter-in-chief” and
Beijing’s cautious, calculating leader.
They may have one thing in common: their rhetoric about restoring their
nations to greatness. But the two men differ in almost every other
respect, from their political styles to their diplomatic experience,
adding uncertainty to what has been called the world’s most important
bilateral relationship.
Five months after his election on a stridently anti-China platform,
Trump appears to have set himself on a course for collision rather than
conciliation with Xi, raising doubts as to whether the world's two
biggest economies can find common ground.
Topping the agenda at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida will be
whether he will make good on his threat to use crucial U.S.-China trade
ties to pressure Beijing to do more to rein in its nuclear-armed
neighbor North Korea, which is working to develop missiles capable of
hitting the United States.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Apr/04/images/ads/current/stacy_sda_101816.png)
Trump, a 70-year-old former real estate magnate with no foreign policy
experience before entering the White House, has tweeted that it will be
a "very difficult” meeting with the veteran Communist Party leader seven
years his junior, given Chinese trade practices he says are killing U.S.
jobs.
He has also demanded that Beijing do more to “solve” the North Korean
problem – his biggest national security challenge - or he will act alone
to deal with Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
Some White House aides believe Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser
Jared Kushner could be an influential moderating voice on how he handles
Xi in their talks on Thursday and Friday. Contacts between Kushner and
China’s U.S. envoy helped smooth the way for the meeting, according to
current and former U.S. officials.
Even so, what worries the protocol-conscious Chinese more than policy
clashes is the risk that the unpredictable Trump could publicly
embarrass Xi, after several foreign leaders experienced awkward moments
with the new U.S. president.
"Ensuring President Xi does not lose face is a top priority for China,”
a Chinese official said.
U.S. presidents’ meetings with their Chinese counterparts are usually
more tightly scripted than with other foreign leaders, something Chinese
officials insist on to make sure they are treated with the decorum they
believe befits a global power.
This summit should offer a study in contrasts: Trump impatient,
outspoken and prone to angry tweet-storms; Xi, outwardly calm and
measured, with no known social media presence.
Their shared nationalist tendencies could aggravate friction between
their countries, which are increasingly global rivals.
Trump insists the United States has been cheated economically for
decades by countries like China and must regain its luster, while Xi
wants China, once an ancient empire, to be able to flex its muscles on
the world stage.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Apr/04/images/ads/current/brickey_sda_2017.png)
“Xi and Trump are not natural friends,” said a former senior U.S.
official specializing in Asia. "The question is when Trump’s ‘Make
America Great Again’ hits Xi’s ‘Chinese Dream’, what’s the result?”
WON’T PULL PUNCHES
It remains unclear how far Trump will go in translating populist
rhetoric into policy that steps up pressure on China, given the risk of
a trade war neither country can afford.
But aides say he won't pull his punches, especially on trade, on which
he has held an outspoken view for decades.
This adds to doubts as to whether the two leaders can find common ground
on North Korea and China's expansive claims in the South China Sea.
Some analysts question whether Trump can get the better of Xi, who was
born into a life of politics and has a reputation for being a tough
tactician.
"Xi’s performed pretty well in these types of environments," said
Christopher Johnson, a China expert and former CIA analyst at
Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/040417pics/news_q29.jpg)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump.
REUTERS/File Photos
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_090916.png)
While Trump has been in office little more than 10 weeks, Xi has
honed his U.S. strategy since assuming the Chinese leadership in
2013.
The son of a revolutionary leader, Xi has sought to project the
image internationally of a strong advocate of globalization at a
time when Trump has stoked fears of U.S. protectionism.
Still, Chinese officials are mindful of the pitfalls if Trump veers
off-script.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe found himself in a long,
uncomfortable handshake at the White House in February, and Trump
appeared to ignore German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s offer of a
handshake during their meeting last month.
An acrimonious call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull caused particular concern in Beijing, officials
there say.
Still, the decision to hold a summit so early in Trump’s presidency
suggests both Washington and Beijing see the value of trying to
build a personal relationship between the two leaders.
Trump goes into the meeting with significant gaps in his team of
Asia advisers and his China policy still not fully formulated.
Hardliners like trade adviser Peter Navarro, who authored a book
“Death by China,” have feuded over the administration's approach to
China with more pragmatic aides such as economic adviser Gary Cohn,
a former Goldman Sachs president, current and former U.S. officials
say.
Administration officials argue Trump can use his “Art of the Deal”
sales techniques to convince Xi that China needs the United States
more than the United States needs China, especially when it comes to
market access.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Apr/04/images/ads/current/harrismoriearty_lda_SFARM_2017.png)
But analysts say the Chinese are shrewd enough at geopolitics to
fend off U.S. demands. Xi may also see Trump politically weakened by
his high-profile legislative failure on healthcare as well as his
low public approval ratings.
Trump has already backed down on China's most sensitive issue -
Taiwan - having first infuriated Beijing by suggesting he might not
abide by Washington’s long-standing “one China” policy. Trump may
now feel he is owed a favor in return.
A fence-mending phone call in February was arranged by Kushner and
China’s U.S. ambassador, Cui Tiankai, officials say, after Cui
invited Trump’s daughter Ivanka to the Chinese Embassy's Lunar New
Year reception, where her daughter sang in Mandarin.
Both sides are keeping expectations low for tangible outcomes from
the summit, billed as informal "get to know you" meetings similar to
the 2013 Sunnylands summit in California between Xi and Trump’s
predecessor, Barack Obama.
And whatever else, unlike Abe's February visit to Mar-a-Lago, there
will be no golf diplomacy: China’s Communist Party associates golf
with shady dealings and has sought to stop officials from playing it
as part of Xi's fight against corruption.
(Additional reporting by Michael Martina in Beijing and Steve
Holland in Washington, Editing by Ross Colvin)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Apr/04/images/ads/current/Martin_Farms_daily_sda_2015.png) |