It would certainly appear that Trump got played once again at the China Summit, while flattering Xi incessantly, he walked away with absolutely nothing in return. It seemed like just another omelette on that incredibly ugly face of his. It's getting increasingly more difficult to refer to this clown as a real leader. And the difference in gravitas between him and Xi is a rather shocking counterpoint. It's like an adolescent boy pretending to be a man, negotiating with a towering presence. I don't like the Chinese govt. nor the CCP, but facts are facts.

President Trump departed Beijing on Friday with almost nothing concrete to show for his two-day summit with President Xi Jinping of China. After months of buildup and a delay necessitated by Mr. Trump’s difficulty in extricating the United States from the war with Iran, the summit ended with no major public progress on the Middle East, trade, Taiwan, nuclear proliferation, artificial intelligence or any of the other myriad issues that are sources of friction between the world’s two superpowers.

Instead, Mr. Trump seemed intent on a different kind of diplomacy, forging a personal bond with a Chinese leader who appeared far more focused on advancing his own nation’s strategic agenda.

Mr. Trump toasted Mr. Xi as “my friend” at their banquet in Beijing on Thursday and said he had “become really a friend” when they sat down before the cameras on Friday.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, asked at a briefing during the summit whether Mr. Xi considered Mr. Trump a friend, responded with boilerplate: “the two sides exchanged views on major issues.”

Mr. Trump has hailed the summit in Beijing as a major success, highlighting the personal bond he says he has built with China’s longtime leader. But the feeling is not necessarily mutual, as evidenced by Mr. Xi’s more measured tone and the lack of clarity about any major agreements.

The mismatch shows the risks in Mr. Trump’s personality-driven foreign policy, his bet that he can solve the world’s problems and defend American interests by his charm and force of will. In Mr. Xi, the U.S. president faced a counterpart this week well versed in Mr. Trump’s desire for praise and pomp, and with an apparent strategy for how to exploit it.

“He was flattering him excessively and it was clearly not working,” said Ms. Shirk, a professor at the University of California, San Diego. “The lack of preparation created this kind of void of substance in the meeting, and the Chinese stepped into that void.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/16/world/europe/trump-xi-china-summit.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

But by the time Trump and his entourage boarded Air Force One on Friday, the generous helpings of food might not have been enough to stave off an empty feeling. He came, he saw, he left without much to show for it: no swift end to the war in Iran, no definitive answer on the fate of Taiwan and only the vague outlines of corporate mega-deals. Underwhelmed observers suggested that the summit failed to live up to the hype.

A lot of pomp, a lot of pageantry, a lot of symbolism but not a lot of substance or deliverables.

China’s foreign ministry bluntly declared that the conflict “should never have happened” and called for shipping routes to reopen but stopped short of endorsing Trump’s approach.

Even his notoriously hyperactive social media feeds went largely dormant during the two-day swing. Critics of the president’s authoritarian tendencies at home are likely to suggest he had found a kindred spirit in illiberal China and has not shown such affection towards another leader since meeting Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Asked by reporters if he considered Xi to be a dictator, Trump replied: “I don’t think about it. He’s the ruler, he’s the president of China. I don’t think about it. You have to deal with what you have. I respect him. He’s very smart. He loves his country, I respect him, whether he’s a dictator, that’s for you to figure out.”

Another obvious F grade meeting.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/16/donald-trump-xi-jinping-summit-china?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Trump went to China to pay fealty to the World's Leader.

For the first time in memory, Xi was NOT inscrutable. It was clear he felt he was looking at a clown and a suck-up.

Xi noted the Thucydides Trap (it was a direct insult to Trump), which flew right over Trump's willfully ignorant and demented head, but with a translation and a little quick education, Trump did his usual: blame others for his own failings. That had to make Xi not only delighted, but will let Xi relax for the remainder of his tenure, knowing his US counterparty is a moron and easily controlled. The likely reason nothing of substance was discussed is because Xi could tell there was no substance opposite him at the table, just a demented old fool in awe of an actual leader with the power and control about which Trump likely fantasizes.

Despite being a commie, Xi also knows how to manipulate and control the business people who accompanied Trump. The promise of untold riches in the world's largest Middle Class market and major manufacturing power is a dog whistle to those with little to no morality. If there is tech China needs, China will coax it out of these "titans of Capitalist Industry", which will save China lots of R&D costs.

The final insult was the "gift" Xi gave Trump at departure: rose seeds. As noted elsewhere, Xi had visited the White House under Obama---back when the US was the world's major power---and had remarked about the beautiful Rose Garden, which Trump tore up to impose his usual garish tastelessness with cement and gold paint.

He is a clown and those supporting are the plural …

I think President Xi's "Thucydides Trap" remark was not just a warning, but a veiled threat. There's a new kid on the block now, and you had better watch out.

Trump has gutted Nvidia's chances of major take up of its products in China. Started by Biden, these bans on sales have forced China to invest in self reliance, thereby creating a possible rival to Nvidia, and many other companies in the near future. Even ASML is getting worried.

Any Boeing order will be just a stop gap until China's COMEX can get around the certification block being used to prevent its aircraft competing on the open market.

As for the American farmers. Well now Trump has almost bankrupted them, he has found a buyer for all their farms by agreeing to let the Chinese buy US farmland.

It all started out bad , with Xi not been at the airport to welcome him , and

went downhill from there , Melania did not bother to come, Trump 🤡

none stop fawning over Xi, made him climb a very high staircase ,Trump 🤡

must have been knackered , Xi telling him not to interfere with Taiwan ,and

the final insult Xi giving him a packet of rose seeds , knowing full well that

Donald had destroyed the famous rose garden at the White House , good

to see Trump 🤡 humiliated ,payback for the way he treated Zelenskiy when

he was at the White house....

regards Worgeordie

10 hours ago, worgeordie said:

It all started out bad , with Xi not been at the airport to welcome him , and

went downhill from there , Melania did not bother to come, Trump 🤡

none stop fawning over Xi, made him climb a very high staircase ,Trump 🤡

must have been knackered , Xi telling him not to interfere with Taiwan ,and

the final insult Xi giving him a packet of rose seeds , knowing full well that

Donald had destroyed the famous rose garden at the White House , good

to see Trump 🤡 humiliated ,payback for the way he treated Zelenskiy when

he was at the White house....

regards Worgeordie

It is quite obvious Melania despises Don. Why spend all that time with him when she doesn't have to? She is the lowest quality first lady in history. She is worthless, useless and does nothing for America. Can she be impeached?

12 hours ago, JAS21 said:

He is a clown and those supporting are the plural …

But a clown with the nuclear codes so we're forced into needing to pay attention to that dotard.

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

It is quite obvious Melania despises Don. Why spend all that time with him when she doesn't have to? She is the lowest quality first lady in history. She is worthless, useless and does nothing for America. Can she be impeached?

She's can't.

Agreed 100 percent that she totally despises and is disgusted by Trump so that's something good that can be said about her.

Answer to the question - No, Trump humiliated himself, Xi just gave him enough rope to do so.

31 minutes ago, JimHuaHin said:

Answer to the question - No, Trump humiliated himself, Xi just gave him enough rope to do so.

I do wish he had hing himself with it instead.

Edited May 18May 18 by gargamon

On 5/17/2026 at 8:13 AM, worgeordie said:

It all started out bad , with Xi not been at the airport to welcome him , and

went downhill from there , Melania did not bother to come, Trump 🤡

none stop fawning over Xi, made him climb a very high staircase ,Trump 🤡

must have been knackered , Xi telling him not to interfere with Taiwan ,and

the final insult Xi giving him a packet of rose seeds , knowing full well that

Donald had destroyed the famous rose garden at the White House , good

to see Trump 🤡 humiliated ,payback for the way he treated Zelenskiy when

he was at the White house....

regards Worgeordie

To be fair, world leaders don’t typically greet one another off the plane, but at least he wasn’t met by some random uber driver this time.

The niceties: there were of course many, but Xi didn’t buy into it because he knows they are empty. When ‘the prik’ visits the UK, he is full of it, then slags off his country’s so called best friend as soon as he gets home.

No love for the CCP, but it is all over Trump like a cheap suit and it is heartwarming to see.

I wonder if the Secret Service loaded Trump's soiled nappies on to Air Force One. If not, the Chinese will go through them with a fine toothcomb.

38 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

world leaders don’t typically greet one another off the plane,

Funny, Trump was there enthusiastically greeting Putin in Alaska. I guess it depends on how much you respect(admire, love, are infatuated with, etc) the other one.

On 5/17/2026 at 2:37 AM, Wingate said:

Trump went to China to pay fealty to the World's Leader.

For the first time in memory, Xi was NOT inscrutable. It was clear he felt he was looking at a clown and a suck-up.

Xi noted the Thucydides Trap (it was a direct insult to Trump), which flew right over Trump's willfully ignorant and demented head, but with a translation and a little quick education, Trump did his usual: blame others for his own failings. That had to make Xi not only delighted, but will let Xi relax for the remainder of his tenure, knowing his US counterparty is a moron and easily controlled. The likely reason nothing of substance was discussed is because Xi could tell there was no substance opposite him at the table, just a demented old fool in awe of an actual leader with the power and control about which Trump likely fantasizes.

Despite being a commie, Xi also knows how to manipulate and control the business people who accompanied Trump. The promise of untold riches in the world's largest Middle Class market and major manufacturing power is a dog whistle to those with little to no morality. If there is tech China needs, China will coax it out of these "titans of Capitalist Industry", which will save China lots of R&D costs.

The final insult was the "gift" Xi gave Trump at departure: rose seeds. As noted elsewhere, Xi had visited the White House under Obama---back when the US was the world's major power---and had remarked about the beautiful Rose Garden, which Trump tore up to impose his usual garish tastelessness with cement and gold paint.

No doubt they'll remember what JD Vance said about them and how he said it...