Trump and Xi to meet in April?

[Randy W]

in the SCMP

 

Xi Jinping-Trump summit may be on the cards for April

Final arrangements still to be nailed down as Beijing fears mishap at top-level meeting

 

 

A meeting between the heads of the world’s two biggest economies could take place next month, Michael Green, from the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said on Friday on the sidelines of an event in Hong Kong.

If confirmed, the meeting would be the first face-to-face ­encounter for the two men.

 

. . .

 

Mainland diplomatic observers said efforts were being made for the Xi-Trump meeting, but the matter had to be handled very cautiously. Beijing was concerned about the potential embarrassment of a mishap from the meeting, given Trump’s unorthodox approach to diplomacy, they said.

Green said he did not expect Xi to spend as much time with Trump during their talks as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did in February – mainly because Xi was an avid soccer fan and did not share Trump’s interest in golf.

 

. . .

 

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson makes his first official trip to Asia next week, with stops in Seoul and Tokyo. He will also visit Beijing on March 18, and is expected to meet Xi, laying the foundations for the two presidents to meet.

 

 

[Randy W]

 

 

 

. . .

 

Mainland diplomatic observers said efforts were being made for the Xi-Trump meeting, but the matter had to be handled very cautiously. Beijing was concerned about the potential embarrassment of a mishap from the meeting, given Trump’s unorthodox approach to diplomacy, they said.

Green said he did not expect Xi to spend as much time with Trump during their talks as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did in February – mainly because Xi was an avid soccer fan and did not share Trump’s interest in golf.

 

. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps Xi is spending his time studying this video

 

https://cdn.theguardian.tv/mainwebsite/2017/02/14/170214TrumpshakeUPDATE_desk.mp4

[chilton747]

I wouldn't doubt that Xi is worried about the handshake and losing face.😔

[chilton747]

I'll tell you a meeting I would like to see and that is Trump and Kim Jong Un. Let the deal making begin.

[Randy W]

I haven't seen anything more about this, except that it HAS been verified by the White House for Mar-a-Lago in April.

[Allon]

Now if they could just have Xi's plane land and make him get off on the service bay of the aircraft. Paybacks are hell.

[Randy W]

I'm sure you'll know to take this with a grain of whatever, but the "art of diplomacy" IS all about cutting through the language, and Trump and Xi have a meeting coming up in a couple of weeks . . .

 

In the Washington Post

 

In China debut, Tillerson appears to hand Beijing a diplomatic victory

But some critics say Tillerson has bent too far, handing Beijing what Chinese news media reports are calling a “diplomatic victory.”

After meeting China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday, Tillerson voiced Chinese catchphrases about the relationship, including the avoidance of conflict and confrontation and the need to build “mutual respect” and strive for “win-win” cooperation.

The phrase “mutual respect” is key: In Beijing, that is taken to mean each side should respect the other’s “core interests.”

In other words: The United States should stay away from issues such as Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong — and in principle almost anything China’s Communist Party deems a vital national security concern. Increasingly, that also appears to include China’s territorial claims in the contested waters of the South China Sea.

Several Chinese foreign policy experts called the comments “very positive” and in line with a concept Beijing has long advocated — what it calls “a new model of great power relationships,” which would put the two nations on a roughly equal footing.

Jin Canrong, a Sino-U.S. relations expert at Renmin University of China in Beijing, said Tillerson’s comments came as a surprise.

“China has long been advocating this, but the United States has been reluctant to accept the point of ‘mutual respect,’ ” Jin said. “Tillerson’s comment will be very warmly welcomed by China.”

But Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the United States should use its own language to describe bilateral relations, not embrace China’s.

More important, “mutual respect” signals acceptance of “a litany of issues that China views as nonnegotiable,” she said. “By agreeing to this, the U.S. is in effect saying that it accepts that China has no room to compromise on these issues.”

 

[Randy W]

Don't be surprised if you see pictures of her with Xi Jinping at the upcoming summit - in the SCMP

 

Ivanka Trump – the US president’s new China charmer-in-chief

 

http://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2017/03/30/d5c4d736-153b-11e7-8424-32eaba91fe03_1320x770_222114.JPG

 

http://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2017/03/30/584e1ccc-153b-11e7-8424-32eaba91fe03_1320x770_222114.JPG

 

Chinese media have used similar terms of endearment to describe Peng Liyuan, the wife of President Xi Jinping, and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge and the wife of Britain’s Prince William.

Shanghai University media professor Dai Yuanguang said the words used were “a rather high compliment” and could be seen as goodwill from Beijing just days ahead of next week’s summit between Trump and Xi.

 

 

[Randy W]

in the SCMP

 

The man behind the Xi-Trump summit

China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, has pulled out all stops to make meeting in Florida happen

 

President Xi’s top foreign policy aide is widely believed to have played a central role in preparations for the summit, which diplomatic pundits describe as a "blind date" between two alpha males.

 

. . .

 

They said Beijing remained “cautiously optimistic” about the summit’s prospects even though the Chinese leadership was deeply suspicious of Trump, whose signature lack of predictability and reliability have been on full display less than three months into his presidency.

 

 

Edited April 1, 2017 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

coverage from Xinhua

 

China Focus: Chinese president to visit Finland, meet Trump in U.S.

Source: Xinhua| 2017-03-30 21:15:03|Editor: Liangyu

 

Commenting on a question about China-U.S. trade links, Lu said the two countries' trade and economies are highly complementary.

"China hopes to make joint efforts with the United States to expand trade cooperation, properly settle trade frictions through dialogue, and maintain healthy and stable growth of trade and economic ties," said Lu.

China-U.S. trade in goods amounted to 519.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, an increase of 207 times compared with that of 1979, when the two countries set up diplomatic ties, according to Lu.

Lu hailed the growth of China-U.S. trade and economic ties since the forging of diplomatic ties 38 years ago, adding it had brought concrete benefits to the two countries' business sectors and consumers.

Currently, China is the fastest-growing export market of the United States besides north America, he said.

Considering the trade imbalances between both countries, Lu said 40 percent of China's trade surplus with the United States came from U.S. companies in China.

According to statistics from the U.S.-China Business Council, two-way trade and mutual investment in 2015 had created 2.6 million jobs for the United States. U.S.-China trade ties could save 850 U.S. dollars for each American family every year, he said.

 

. . .

 

The efficient way to benefit both peoples is to make a larger "cake" of shared interests, rather than a "more for you, less for me" distribution pattern, Lu said.

 

[Randy W]

Coverage from Xinhua and SCMP

 

Xinhua - Spotlight: Xi, Trump engage in deep-going, friendly, long-time talks at Mar-a-Lago resort

 

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-04/07/136191088_14915733790461n.jpg

 

 

While meeting with Trump at the latter's Florida resort, Xi said there are "a thousand reasons to make the China-U.S. relationship work, and no reason to break it."

It takes political resolve and historical commitments from leaders of both countries to enhance the bilateral relations in the 45 years to come, said Xi, who also invited Trump to pay a state visit to China in 2017.

The Chinese president also underlined the role of four newly-established high-level mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in such areas as diplomacy and security, economy, law enforcement and cyber security, as well as social and people-to-people exchanges.

Xi urged the two countries to set up a cooperative priority list for early harvest, advance negotiations on the bilateral investment treaty, and explore the pragmatic cooperation in infrastructure construction and energy, among other areas.

He also said the two sides should properly handle sensitive issues, manage and control differences in a constructive manner, and strengthen communication and coordination in major international and regional affairs.

China and the United States should expand their cooperation in addressing global challenges, such as non-proliferation and the fight against cross-border crimes, Xi said.

For his part, Trump accepted the invitation for a state visit to China with pleasure, and hoped to make the trip at an early date.

The two heads of state also informed each other of their current priorities in domestic and diplomatic agenda, and exchanged views on regional hot-button issues.

 

 

SCMP -

Trump minds his manners for a smiling Xi at Florida retreat

President known for trampling on diplomatic niceties was on his best behaviour with Chinese counterpart as Mar-a-Lago summit began

 

A five-second handshake, praise for the guest’s wife, introduction of cute grandchildren and talks of friendship – it was all there from US President Donald Trump on Thursday. He behaved just like an experienced politician would towards another state leader.

 

 

 

[Randy W]

The NY Times has some pretty good coverage of the shenanigans once Xi left

 

After Xi Leaves U.S., Chinese Media Assail Strike on Syria

 

Xinhua, the state news agency, on Saturday called the strike the act of a weakened politician who needed to flex his muscles. In an analysis, Xinhua also said Mr. Trump had ordered the strike to distance himself from Syria’s backers in Moscow, to overcome accusations that he was “pro-Russia.”

That unflattering assessment reflected China’s official opposition to military interventions in the affairs of other countries. But it was also a criticism of Mr. Trump himself, who Mr. Xi had hoped was a man China could deal with.

. . .

But the official Chinese account of the talks in Xinhua did not mention North Korea — a burning issue for Mr. Trump, but less so for Mr. Xi. Analysts said the omission was probably intentional, a response to the attack on Syria.

Xinhua’s commentary on the Syria strike also made no reference to North Korea. But it mentioned American missile attacks on Libya in 1986 and Sudan in 1998, and scolded the United States for not achieving its “political goals” in those instances.

“It has been a typical tactic of the U.S. to send a strong political message by attacking other countries using advanced warplanes and cruise missiles,” the article said.

. . .

But Chinese analysts, whose advice is sometimes sought by the government on foreign policy questions, were scornful of the strike, which they viewed as a powerful country attacking a nation unable to fight back. And they rejected what they viewed as an unspoken American message equating Syria, which has no nuclear arsenal, with North Korea, which has carried out five nuclear arms tests and hopes to mount a nuclear warhead on an intercontinental missile.

“I don’t deny that the United States is capable of such an attack against North Korea, but you need to see that North Korea is capable of striking back,” said Lu Chao, director of the Border Studies Institute at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences. “That would create chaos.”

. . .

In the preparations for the talks, Chinese officials emphasized that they expected few concrete results because they viewed the Florida encounter as a getting-to-know-you session between two big personalities. In that sense, the Chinese prevailed, Ms. Yun said.

“It will be Trump who will have difficulty explaining to his voters what he got from the Chinese,” she said.