'Trump views US-China relations as a personal friendship: Xi views US as an adversary to be managed'

Henrietta Levin, a China policy specialist at a Washington-based research institute, told France 24's Erin Ogunkeye that President Donald Trump's approach to relations with China rests heavily on his personal rapport with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Levin said this personalized framing creates openings that Beijing can exploit, since Xi does not view the relationship the same way. Instead, according to Levin, Xi views Washington as a rival that must be handled carefully while China pursues its own domestic priorities and strategic goals in Asia, including its posture on Taiwan.

Levin, speaking on France 24's Americas program, drew a distinction between the raw power the United States holds on paper and the actual leverage it can bring to bear in negotiations, arguing the two are not the same thing. She suggested that Trump's tendency to treat the US-China dynamic as a matter of personal friendship with Xi does not necessarily strengthen Washington's hand at the negotiating table, and may instead work to China's advantage.

The interview framed the contrast between the two leaders' outlooks — one personal, the other adversarial — as central to understanding how each side is positioning itself. Xi's government, Levin said, continues to pursue its strategic objectives in Asia on its own terms, even as Trump's personal approach to the relationship persists.

Summarized by PolitiKool from France 24’s reporting. Read the full story at France 24 →