Beijing is now the second world capital
In Beijing, two leaders whose nations have long circled each other with suspicion staged an elaborate ritual of reconciliation — military honors, raised glasses, and carefully chosen words. Donald Trump, who once made hostility toward China a cornerstone of his political identity, accepted flattery in the Great Hall of the People while Xi Jinping positioned his country as an indispensable pillar of the emerging world order. Whether this pageantry marks a genuine turning point or merely a sophisticated performance of mutual necessity remains the question history will answer in the days ahead.
- A leader who built his career calling China a thief now accepts toasts in Beijing — the whiplash between rhetoric and reality is almost impossible to overstate.
- Behind the ceremonial warmth, three live wires — trade tariffs, Iran's nuclear ambitions, and Taiwan's contested sovereignty — threaten to short-circuit any deal before the ink dries.
- China arrives at the table holding the stronger hand: it manufactures a third of the world's goods, controls over 90 percent of rare earth minerals, and has already proven it can redirect its economy when Washington turns hostile.
- Trump brought 30 CEOs including Musk, Cook, and Huang to press for market access, while Xi dangled soybeans, beef, and Boeing orders — both sides performing generosity while guarding their core interests.
- Friday's formal talks will test whether the warmth is structural or theatrical, with Trump needing a domestic political win and Xi needing to demonstrate that China can hold its ground without losing the world's largest consumer market.
Donald Trump arrived in Beijing to a welcome of military precision and schoolchildren waving paired flags — the kind of ceremonial grandeur that made the moment feel both historic and slightly unreal. When he met Xi Jinping, he called him a great leader. At the Temple of Heaven, he called China beautiful. At the banquet, he called the talks cherished. The man who once said China was "raping our country" was now accepting toasts in the Great Hall of the People.
Observers of the relationship read the spectacle carefully. Xi had orchestrated every element — the honors, the flattery, the presence of allied world leaders all eager to do business with Beijing. The message was deliberate: China is a stable power, its door is open, and the world has noticed. As one senior analyst put it, Beijing has become the second world capital.
Beneath the warmth, three unresolved tensions loomed. Trade tariffs exceeding 100 percent from Trump's first term had produced a fragile truce but no lasting framework. Iran presented a different kind of leverage — with the Strait of Hormuz blocked and China as Tehran's largest trading partner, Beijing held cards Washington needed. And Taiwan remained the most dangerous fault line of all; Xi had reportedly warned Trump directly that it could bring the two nations into conflict, though neither leader answered when reporters asked about it.
China's economic position gave it considerable weight at the table. It manufactures roughly a third of the world's goods, processes over 90 percent of global rare earth minerals, and dominates clean energy production. When Trump's tariffs returned, Beijing responded in kind and restricted rare earth exports — and Washington came to negotiate. The supply chains of the modern world run through China, and China knows it.
Trump brought a delegation of thirty CEOs, including Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and Jensen Huang, pressing for greater access to Chinese markets. The official readout after day one was cautious: both sides had discussed economic cooperation and agreed that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons and that the Strait of Hormuz must stay open. Xi signaled readiness to buy more American agricultural goods and aircraft. The two leaders agreed to frame their relationship as constructive, strategic, and stable for the next three years. Trump invited Xi to the White House in September.
At the banquet's close, Xi raised his glass and suggested that China's national rejuvenation and America's greatness could advance together. Whether Friday's formal talks would produce anything concrete — or whether the entire visit was simply the most elaborate performance of mutual interest either side had yet staged — remained genuinely open.
Donald Trump stepped out of his motorcade in Beijing to find a military honour guard standing at attention, their dress uniforms immaculate in the morning light. A gun salute cracked across the plaza. A band played the American national anthem. Schoolchildren waved flags—Chinese and American together—and Trump paused twice to acknowledge them. It was the kind of pageantry usually reserved for state funerals or coronations, and it was being laid on for a man who, just a decade earlier, had built his political identity on the premise that China was stealing from America.
When Trump shook hands with Xi Jinping, he leaned in and patted him on the arm. "You're a great leader," he said, his words apparently unscripted. "I say it to everybody." Later, touring the Temple of Heaven, he told reporters that China was beautiful. At the banquet that night, he called the talks a "cherished" opportunity. The contrast was stark enough to be almost surreal. In 2016, Trump had told a campaign rally that China was "raping our country." In 2020, he blamed Beijing for the Covid-19 pandemic and called it the "Chinese virus." Before his return to power, he promised to "make China pay." Now he was accepting toasts and compliments in the Great Hall of the People.
What was happening, according to observers of US-China relations, was a visible shift in the global balance of power. John Delury, a senior fellow at the Asia Society's Centre on US-China Relations, put it plainly: "We are witnessing a historical change. Beijing is now the second world capital." The spectacle was not accidental. Xi had orchestrated every element of the welcome—the military precision, the flattery, the presence of world leaders from allied nations like Canada, the UK, and Germany, all eager to negotiate with Beijing. The message was clear: China's door is open, and the world is watching.
Behind the ceremonial warmth lay three unresolved tensions that could reshape the relationship between the superpowers. The first was trade. During Trump's last term, the two sides had imposed tariffs exceeding 100 percent on each other's goods. A fragile truce had followed, but no one knew whether it would hold or what would replace it. The second was Iran. Trump was weakened by conflict in the region; the Strait of Hormuz was blocked, rattling the global economy. China, as Iran's largest trading partner, held leverage that Washington needed. The third was Taiwan—the self-governed island that China claims as its own territory and that the United States is legally bound to help defend. Xi had already warned Trump during their talks that this issue could bring the two countries into conflict, according to Chinese state media. When reporters asked the two leaders if they had discussed Taiwan, neither answered.
China's economic position gave it considerable bargaining power. The country now manufactures roughly a third of the world's goods, processes more than 90 percent of its rare earth minerals, and produces between 60 and 80 percent of all solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles. During Trump's first term, China had braced for tariffs by expanding trade with the rest of the world. When Trump returned to power and threatened more duties, Beijing responded with tit-for-tat tariffs and restrictions on rare earth exports. Washington came to the negotiating table. The lesson was clear: the world's supply chains ran through Beijing, and Beijing knew it.
Trump had brought a delegation of 30 CEOs with him, including Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and Jensen Huang of Nvidia. They sat at the banquet alongside the two leaders. Trump wanted this delegation to take centre stage, pressing China to open its doors to more American firms. The White House statement after the first day's talks mentioned only that the two sides had "discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation," including expanding US firms' access to the Chinese market and Chinese investment in American industries. On Iran, both countries had agreed that "Iran can never have a nuclear weapon" and that "the Strait of Hormuz must remain open." But no details of any actual deal had been released.
Xi, for his part, had signalled that China was ready to buy more American soybeans, beef, and Boeing aircraft. The two leaders had agreed to frame their relationship as "constructive, strategic and stable" for the next three years. China was grappling with serious economic headwinds—rising unemployment, uneven growth, a real estate crisis, and crushing local government debt. Beijing did not want a world centred on American power, but it needed to find a way to coexist with Washington. At the banquet, Trump invited Xi to visit the White House in September. Xi responded by saying that "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" and "Make America great again" could go hand in hand. He raised his glass: "Cheers."
Friday's talks would determine whether any of this translated into concrete agreements. Trump needed a win to sell to Americans as his approval ratings continued to fall. Xi needed to show his own people that China could navigate a shifting world order without losing ground. What remained unclear was whether the warmth on display was the beginning of a genuine reset or simply the most elaborate performance of mutual interest either side had yet staged.
Notable Quotes
You're a great leader. I say it to everybody.— Trump to Xi Jinping
We are witnessing a historical change. Beijing is now the second world capital.— John Delury, Asia Society Centre on US-China Relations
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Xi go to such lengths with the ceremony? Couldn't he have just had a normal meeting?
The ceremony was the message. It told Trump, the American delegation, and every world leader watching that China is stable, open, and powerful. It also showed the world that Beijing doesn't need to be at the centre of global power—it can afford to be gracious.
But Trump spent years attacking China. How does he suddenly praise Xi without looking foolish?
He's reframing it as pragmatism. Trump is saying: I was tough on China, it worked, and now we can deal. The flattery is transactional. He needs China's help on Iran and wants American companies to access Chinese markets. The personal warmth is the currency of that negotiation.
What's the real leverage here? Who has more to lose?
China does, in a way. Their economy is slowing, unemployment is rising, and they need access to American markets and investment. But they also know the world depends on their manufacturing and rare earths. So it's balanced—both sides need something the other has.
Taiwan seemed to disappear from the conversation. Why didn't they answer the question?
Because there's no good answer. Xi wants the US to stop arming Taiwan. Trump is legally bound to arm Taiwan. Neither can give ground without losing face domestically. So they don't talk about it publicly. They talk about it in private, and we won't know what was said until something changes.
Is this reset real, or just theatre?
It's both. The theatre is real—the ceremony, the toasts, the framing as "constructive and stable." But whether that translates into actual deals depends on Friday's talks and what comes after. Right now, both sides are signalling they want to coexist. Whether they can actually do it is the story we're waiting for.