'A Visibly Weaker Position': Michael McFaul contrasts Trump and Xi's demeanour

On the first day of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to China for talks, both he and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged toasts and talked about "consequential" decisions that will shape the future. In his remarks, Trump described his Chinese counterpart as a great "friend” and claimed the two countries are “going to have a fantastic future together." On the other hand, the Chinese President appeared more resolute, a contrast that was noted by former U.S. ambassador Michael McFaul. 

"We are going to have a fantastic future together. I have such respect for China, for the job you’ve done. You are a great leader,” Trump told Xi in his opening remarks at the state banquet that he hosted for the American leader. "It’s an honor to be with you. It’s an honor to be your friend," Trump added, marking a more conciliatory tone compared to some of his previous remarks on China, where he described the country as a "job stealer," and a "national security threat". On the other hand, the New York Times and McFaul noted that Xi spent very little time on flattery as he steered the talks into serious bilateral relations and Taiwan. 

"I’m struck by how often Trump referred to Xi as his 'friend' and a 'great leader,'" McFaul wrote in his post on X, adding that the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party is a "dictator". He went on to point out that Xi offered no such "reciprocal praise" for the American leader. "That asymmetry makes Trump appear in a visibly weaker position," he wrote, sharing a clip of his interview on MS Now. McFaul further called the summit a "non-event," claiming that no major breakthroughs would be made despite Trump bringing the top tech leaders along with him on the trip. 

The comments came as it appeared that the first day of Trump's visit to Beijing was all about managing the personal relationship between him and the Chinese leader. While Trump heaped praises and said he had brought the "best delegation" to talk trade and relations, the Chinese leader set boundaries for the two countries’ relations from the get-go. The red line appeared to Taiwan, as he made it clear that any attempt from Trump to interfere with China's long-term efforts to take over the self-governing island could be highly consequential. “The U.S. must handle the Taiwan issue with utmost caution,” he said, according to the New York Times, which cited a readout from Xinhua, China’s official news agency.

The warning came just minutes into his public remarks before he cautioned that the two nations must keep from falling into the “Thucydides Trap,” a theory popularized by Harvard professor Graham Allison in his book “Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?” in which a rising power challenges a status-quo power, and it often results in a war. “The common interests between China and the United States outweigh our differences,” Xi said, according to state media. “Stability in China-U.S. relations is a boon to the world," he added.