Trump and Xi summit may just be a ‘horse and pony show’, experts say

President Donald Trump gave Chinese President Xi Jinping a rare personal airport welcome as the two leaders opened a summit analysts say is meant to rebuild trust rather than produce major agreements. The gathering follows a trade war that began in Trump's first term, continued under President Joe Biden, and escalated sharply in Trump's second term, when he threatened tariffs as high as 200 percent and Beijing choked off exports of critical minerals. Relations eased after an October meeting in Busan, South Korea, though tariffs remain elevated on both sides, according to Al Jazeera.

Reza Hasmath of the University of Alberta's China Institute called the meeting "a stabilising summit" rather than a bargaining session. Mary E Lovely of the Peterson Institute of International Economics said the goal is extending the Busan truce, partly so China keeps speeding up critical mineral shipments, and floated a possible Board of Trade mechanism cutting tariffs on $30bn worth of goods from each side. She named accelerated mineral flows and modest trade liberalization as the best outcome, and failure to find common ground as the worst.

Other flashpoints include artificial intelligence, where Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has proposed a dialogue and safety hotline that distrust may limit, and Iran, where China has held off buying Iranian oil during the US-Iran war. Dexter Tiff Roberts of the Atlantic Council said Beijing is "delighted" by America's distraction there. On Taiwan, which awaits US approval of $14bn in arms sales, Roberts said Trump remains "a bit of a wild card."

Summarized by PolitiKool from Al Jazeera’s reporting. Read the full story at Al Jazeera →