Why Trump Faces a Stronger Xi at APEC: Three Key Reasons
Chinese President Xi Jinping made a grand visit to the United States last week. Now, US President Donald Trump will meet a more confident and globally influential Xi at the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China this November. This shift comes from three factors.
China has built a stronger framework for strategic stability. The bilateral relationship has also warmed since Mr. Trump’s visit to China. In addition, China holds greater influence as the host nation for this year’s summit.
Mr. Zhang Chi of the University of Hong Kong’s Center on Contemporary China and the World called this improved relationship a highly successful strategic alignment. He said the US policy of maximum pressure failed to shift the balance of power. Instead, he said, it created problems that spun out of control. At the same time, he said China’s technological capabilities, its influence over the Global South, and its Belt and Road partnerships have all strengthened its position.
Mr. Chen Zhi, who directs the Center for US China Relations at Tsinghua University, said Beijing will have far more freedom this time. He explained that as host of the APEC summit, China can set the agenda, choose the topics, and control preparations more freely than Washington could at its own summit.
The US government said in a statement on Saturday that Mr. Trump plans to attend the summit. This meeting will mark his third meeting with Mr. Xi this year.
