Trump and Xi Click But National Rivalries Simmer

U.S. President Donald Trump responded to a flamboyant welcome by Chinese President Xi Jinping with effusive praise, as the two leaders presented a united front in the face of a belligerent North Korea. However, inconsistent statements on trade and other key issues in the relationship reflect a seemingly incoherent U.S. strategy toward China.

Positive leader-to-leader relations between Trump and Xi appeared to override the simmering great power rivalry between the United States and China. The two leaders share similar burdens of global economic leadership as well as promises to their people to return their countries to a status of a – in their view – bygone “greatness.”

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