"After President Trump arrived in Beijing this week, Xi Jinping showered him with pomp befitting a summit of great powers. Yet the Chinese leader permitted potshots at his guest to go viral on his country's internet rather than suppressing them, as some observers expected he would during a state visit. Xi answered Trump's lavish praise by sternly lecturing him about meddling with Taiwan. In the end, Xi offered nothing of great substance-no solutions to the war in Iran, no sweeping trade deals, no promises of access to rare earth minerals. Xi used the visit to humor the lame-duck president, waiting for his time to pass."
"During the first Trump administration, foreign leaders flattered and accommodated the president out of deference to American power. They feared it; they relied on it. During the second administration, and especially since the beginning of the Iran war, their calculus has quietly shifted-not because the strategy of obsequiousness has failed, but because it's no longer worth the trouble. Like many of his counterparts around the world, Xi has begun to assume that it's not just Trump who is term-limited; it's also his nation."
"Trump's war in Iran was meant to showcase American power. It did the opposite. In the course of failing to remove a much weaker regime or eliminate its nuclear threat, the United States blew through its arsenal-so much so that allies in the Pacific reasonably wonder whether enough munitions remain to protect them. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon is now worried that it lacks the firepower to execute contingency plans for defending Taiwan."
Trump’s visit to Beijing featured extensive pomp from Xi Jinping, but Xi allowed critical remarks to spread online rather than suppressing them. Xi responded to Trump’s praise with a stern lecture about meddling with Taiwan and offered no major substantive outcomes, including no solutions for the war in Iran, no sweeping trade deals, and no promises on rare earth minerals. The visit is framed as Xi using the time to humor a term-limited U.S. president. During Trump’s first term, leaders flattered and accommodated him out of fear of American power, but the calculus has shifted. The Iran war is described as failing to remove a weaker regime or eliminate nuclear threats, consuming U.S. munitions and raising allied concerns about Taiwan defense firepower.
Read at The Atlantic
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