Trump heaps praise on 'very special' Xi in China visit

[webfact]

Trump heaps praise on 'very special' Xi in China visit

By Tony Munroe and Christian Shepherd

 

U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping attend a welcoming ceremony in Beijing, China, November 9, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - If Chinese President Xi Jinping was trying to impress U.S. President Donald Trump with lavish treatment during his visit to Beijing, it appears to have worked.

 

Trump was effusive in his praise of Xi and China, even speaking admiringly of Beijing's ability to run up a huge trade surplus at U.S. expense, which Trump blamed on his predecessors.

 

He described as "tremendous" his meetings with Xi on topics including trade, North Korea and controlling opioids, despite the lack of major breakthroughs on easing access to China for U.S. companies or further pressuring North Korea to halt its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

 

"My feeling toward you is an incredibly warm one," Trump said, standing beside Xi.

 

The two had spent the previous afternoon and evening with their wives, touring the Forbidden City and dining there, a privilege rarely extended to visiting leaders.

 

"As we said, there's great chemistry, and I think we're going to do tremendous things, both for China and the United States," Trump said.

 

That chemistry took shape in April, when the two first met at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, softening the edges on sharp differences over trade and North Korea, and concern in the West over an increasingly prosperous China's growing assertiveness.

 

While Trump enjoys a chummy, golfing-buddy relationship with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he has shown admiration for autocratic leaders such as Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

 

Stylistically, the leaders of the world's two largest economies are opposites: Xi is scripted and cautious, cultivating a down-to-earth image; Trump, a developer and reality TV star before his upset election win a year ago, is known for his off-the-cuff style, freewheeling tweets, and rhetorical hyperbole, both negative and positive.

 

The two also face different political realities at home: Xi has never been more powerful, solidifying his grip at a twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress last month; Trump is saddled with low public approval ratings and dogged by investigations into Russian links to his election campaign, though he and his aides claim credit for the U.S. stock market's record highs.

 

ADMIRATION AND LEVERAGE

 

But Trump appears to recognise the clout that China - and by extension, Xi - wields as a rising power, recently likening Xi to a "king" - and is convinced he needs Beijing's leverage with North Korea to deal with his biggest global security challenge.

 

The transactional currying of favour cuts both ways: China is eager to deflect U.S. pressure to do more on North Korea, and to avoid an escalation in trade tensions that seemed inevitable after Trump, during his presidential campaign, accused China of "raping" the United States with its trade practices.

 

"China attaches great importance to guanxi (personal relationships) and it's especially important, given you have a top-down approach to leadership in China, to see Xi get on so well with a foreign leader," said Wang Huiyao, head of the Center for China and Globalization, a think tank.

 

"It's much easier to tackle structural problems with a good atmosphere," he said.

 

Some of their more personal exchanges won prominent play in Chinese social media, including the video of Trump's granddaughter singing to "Grandpa Xi" and "Grandma Peng".

 

An exchange between the two leaders in the Forbidden City when Xi explained to Trump that China has the longest unbroken cultural history of any current nation was especially popular.

 

"We are called the descendants of dragons," Xi tells Trump.

 

"That's great," Trump replies and laughs.

 

Trump went so far as to call Xi a "very special man" in a joint briefing on Thursday, and seemed so enthusiastic that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was asked if Trump had been too deferential.

 

"I didn't detect that at all," Tillerson said.

 

However, the White House yielded to Beijing's wish that the two leaders not take questions during a joint press statement.

 

Xi did not openly reciprocate Trump's personal praise, maintaining his usual stern demeanour, although he grinned when Trump said he did not blame China for the trade gap and again when he said Xi was someone who got things done.

 

"I don't blame China," Trump said of the trade deficit.

 

"Who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for benefit of their citizens? I give China great credit."

 

(Reporting by Tony Munroe, Christian Shepherd, Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-10

 

[jayboy]

[craigt3365]

He was very aggressive against China during the elections, and now has done a 180 turn on them.  I can't imagine being a Trump supporter now.  He's backtracked on sooo many promises. LOL.

 

Sad times for Trump supporters.

[Emster23]

Like a first timer visiting Pattaya: "Hey, this one's different!"

Notice the importance Trumps gives to his feelings regarding international figures. I imagine that is all he has, as he is not a "facts, strategy, and policy" kind of guy

[riclag]

I see Mr. Trump making Diplomatic Concessions.Trump hater's see it as a Campaign lie. The world need's China to come in between ,it's so obvious to use this strategy.

[ilostmypassword]

 The Chinese understand that Trump's appetite for praise is limitless. They saw how brilliantily the Saudis exploited it.  Remember that bizarre episode when all the Cabinet members in a meeting with Trump were asked to say how grateful they were to be working for Trump? The kind of thing that would be worthy of North Korea or any tinpot dictatorship where kowtows are compelled.

[Credo]

58 minutes ago, riclag said:

I see Mr. Trump making Diplomatic Concessions.Trump hater's see it as a Campaign lie. The world need's China to come in between ,it's so obvious to use this strategy.

It's strategy for what?    Trump is like a dog following someone with a bone.   Meanwhile, the Chinese will continue to ship billions and billions of dollars worth of stuff to the US and in return their will be no more concessions that giving Trump a piece of candy.   

 

 

[tonray]

Just imagine what the right wingers would be saying had Obama praised China and not discussed human rights, etc etc. But now just silence. A bunch of phony traitors all of them.

[spidermike007]

During the campaign, China was enemy #1. His rhetoric was very strong. We will play hardball with China. Remember the references to the US getting raped by China? Now, he goes to China, the very clever Xi rolls out the red carpet, flatters him, and makes him feel loved and important. Walla. That is all it takes with this simple minded man. With the emotional development of a 13 year old boy, he succumbs to the soft sell, and the flattery. Now, China is out best friend. Overnight. Just another example in the litany of instances, where the small man got outplayed, by a far more clever foe. It happens alot. He is just not up to the task. And the real issue is that he thinks he knows it all, and more than likely refuses to take good advice, nor study up on an issue. He is dangerous. He is a circus huckster, pretending to be a world leader. God save us all.

[dunroaming]

7 hours ago, riclag said:

I see Mr. Trump making Diplomatic Concessions.Trump hater's see it as a Campaign lie. The world need's China to come in between ,it's so obvious to use this strategy.

Well you guys have always said "don't listen to what Trump says, look at what he does!" 

 

So we can take that to mean that Trump lied to everyone when campaigning and is now reneging on all his pledges.  And for some reason you think that is a strategy?

[Morch]

9 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

He was very aggressive against China during the elections, and now has done a 180 turn on them.  I can't imagine being a Trump supporter now.  He's backtracked on sooo many promises. LOL.

 

Sad times for Trump supporters.

 

And yet...

 

Trump voters: We'd do it again

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/09/trump-voters-polling-election-244644

[tonray]

54 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

And yet...

 

Trump voters: We'd do it again

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/09/trump-voters-polling-election-244644

You can't fix stupid 

[dunroaming]

4 hours ago, tonray said:

You can't fix stupid 

Beat me to it!  Problem is whatever the facts his supporters will never see what a moron he is.

[coulson]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

"We are called the descendants of dragons," Xi tells Trump.

 

"That's great," Trump replies and laughs.

His response proving that we are all actually descendants of monkeys.

[Opl]

2 hours ago, dunroaming said:

Beat me to it!  Problem is whatever the facts his supporters will never see what a moron he is.

They are consistent. Far-right " poorly educated" support those who flatter them shamefully

 

"Trump is a flatterer and foreign policy neophyte. He’s going to say some stuff that Xi will like and make experts gnash their teeth. But look just a little below that surface and you’ll see an approach to Asia largely the same" as the Obama administration's Asia policy, tweeted Eric Gomez, an Asia policy analyst "

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/10/trump-asia-trip-asian-leaders-244781?lo=ap_c1

Edited November 10, 2017 by Opl

[Jingthing]

The job is way over trump's head, he's totally incompetent, and he's handing the world to China on a platter. It's embarrassing being American these days. There was always going to be a shift in power, but it didn't need to be this fast, and this STUPID. 

[Skywalker69]

22 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

He was very aggressive against China during the elections, and now has done a 180 turn on them.  I can't imagine being a Trump supporter now.  He's backtracked on sooo many promises. LOL.

 

Sad times for Trump supporters.

If you give a dog candy he will wag its tail, the same goes for Trump.

[Jingthing]

Xi's poodle donald boy. Woof woof.

 

 

Quote

 

China Has Donald Trump Just Where It Wants Him
...

Xi gave Trump a warm welcome this week, said the Pacific was big enough for both nations and offered business agreements. Trump made nice and suggested that China and the United States could solve “almost all” of the world’s problems, “and probably all of them.” This was the noise. The real story is growing Chinese strength, steady Chinese purpose aimed at midcentury dominance and erratic American outbursts suggestive of a petulant great power’s retreat.

 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/opinion/china-trump.html