The Trump-Xi summit at
Mar-a-Lago, Florida, seems to have gone off well. A US spokesman says
that the 'President was very pleased with the outcomes of the meeting.'While
the Chinese readout by Xinhua was dryer, speaking of the meeting
'setting a constructive tone for the development of China-US relations.'
The
most important take away was, in the words of US secretary of state Rex
Tillerson that 'the chemistry between the two leaders was positive.'
Candid chemistry
Given
Trump's demonisation of China through the election campaign and the
early turbulence that hit the relationship on the issue of One China
policy, the outcome was not easy to predict.
Clearly, however Trump went out of his way to be hospitable to his Chinese guest.
With
good chemistry to start with, the two key countries on the global stage
can bring what the Chinese call 'win win' solutions to their problems,
and to those of the world.
A measure of
the success of the meeting was the decision to raise the level of the
various bilateral dialogues that the two countries undertake on
economic, law and order, cyber security and diplomatic and security
issues.
They will now be overseen by the two Presidents.
There was plain speaking on both sides, more so on the Americans who profess to have had a litany of complaints.
So,
as Tillerson noted, 'President Trump noted the challenges caused by
Chinese government intervention in its economy and raised serious
concerns about the impact of China's industrial, agricultural,
technology and cyber policies on US jobs and exports.'
The
US was also candid in telling the Chinese that they must adhere to
international norms in the East and South China Seas and to their own
earlier statements saying that they would not militarise the region.
The Chinese side emphasised its position on the 'Taiwan issue and the Tibet-related issues'.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan for dinner
In
other words, re-emphasised its sensitivity to matters relating to its
national territory. In addition, it out forward its position on the
South China Sea issue.
There was
convergence on North Korea and the need to de-nuclearise the Korean
peninsula. But the Chinese made their opposition to the THAAD
anti-missile system in South Korea clear.
For its part, the US, which is the target of North Korea's nuclear and missile weapons, is keeping its powder dry.
But
the Chinese side could not have missed the significance of the American
missile strike on a Syrian base at the time their President was dining
with his American counterpart.
But it
was only after Xi left the US that the Chinese media openly criticised
the strike as being the actions of a weakened president who needed to
show he was tough.
Mutual gains
For
the Trump administration, clearly, the first priority is not North
Korea or the South China Sea, but to get some action on the trade and
investment front.
They are looking for
short-term and long term responses from their Chinese counterparts. As
part of this there is the 100-day plan which will have specific
benchmarks aimed at enhancing US exports to China and reducing the trade
deficit between them.
In some ways, the feel-good summit meets the purposes of both parties.
Xi
Jinping has ensured that the unpredictable Trump will not surprise him
between now and the all-important 19th Party Congress later this year.
At
the same time he has burnished his image within his country as a
statesman who can confidently step out and deal with the world's biggest
power on the basis of equality.
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