China Shuts Down Trump Deal As Meeting Goes Bad Quick
China Shuts Down Trump Deal As Meeting Goes Bad Quick
BEIJING — The image was supposed to be one of imperial strength: the “consummate dealmaker” touching down in the heart of the Middle Kingdom to dictate the terms of a new global order. Instead, President Donald Trump’s high-stakes summit in Beijing this week has unfolded as a masterclass in diplomatic humiliation, exposing a commander-in-chief increasingly isolated by a grinding war in Iran and a cognitive state that has even his staunchest allies whispering about the 25th Amendment.
As Trump stepped off Air Force One on Wednesday, the “red carpet” treatment he so desperately craves was conspicuously hollow. While MAGA influencers scrambled to frame the arrival as a victory, the reality on the tarmac told a different story—one of a weakened superpower being toyed with by a disciplined adversary.
In the rigid world of Chinese protocol, who meets you at the plane is the ultimate scoreboard. When Trump arrived, President Xi Jinping was nowhere to be found.
Instead of a head-of-state greeting, Trump was met by Vice President Han Zheng and a choreographed group of chanting children. To the casual observer, the fanfare looked impressive; to diplomatic historians, it was a calculated insult. By sending a deputy and a group of performers, Beijing signaled that Trump was no longer an equal, but a “guest” to be managed with spectacle rather than substance.
“Xi couldn’t be bothered to meet Donald at the airport because he understands as well as Donald does that humiliating your underlings is a great way to keep them in check,” remarked Mary Trump, the President’s niece and frequent critic.
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