Trump rolls out the red carpet for Xi Jinping

According to three Iranian sources speaking to Reuters, Beijing – acting on behalf of Saudi Arabia – is said to have asked Tehran to put a stop to the attacks carried out by the Yemeni Houthi group. The message was likely conveyed last Wednesday, when Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with the Japanese broadcaster NHK: “China can find a way to push Putin towards negotiations. I’m sure of it, but it hasn’t done so. And if you can and don’t, is that support or not?’ It is against this backdrop that Donald Trump’s White House is preparing to welcome Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is due to arrive in Washington next week.

Yesterday, the White House let it be known that the welcome for the Chinese leader will be spectacular. According to Politico reporter Daniel Lippman, Trump would like to shake hands with Xi directly at Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington – the base from which Air Force One usually departs: this is an unusual move for an American president, particularly as, upon his arrival in Beijing in May, Trump was met at the airport by Vice-President Han Zheng. However, the U.S. president is eager to curry favour with the Chinese leader and is willing to grant him courtesies (and lavish hospitality – rehearsals for the guard of honour to welcome Xi have already taken place at the White House) that he does not extend to his traditional strategic allies. But behind the façade of appearances lies much more, far more of substance: the Chinese delegation will be accompanied by a fair number of business leaders, including the CEOs of electric car giant BYD and electronics firm Xiaomi, just as Trump had done during his visit to China. On Sunday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng in New York, and yesterday there was a preparatory telephone call between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio—who was once subject to sanctions by Beijing—and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. According to other reports leaked to the Chinese press, the US and China are currently also discussing “possible announcements” to strengthen cooperation between their respective armed forces. This is further evidenced by the conciliatory tone adopted by Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun the day before yesterday at the Xiangshan Forum, the security conference in Beijing – to which the Pentagon had intended to send its China specialist, Cynthia Carras, though her attendance was subsequently cancelled at the last minute.

Everything is evolving in the relationship between Washington and Beijing, and everything is linked, on the one hand, to the inscrutability of the Chinese leadership, and on the other, to Trump’s diplomatic model, which consists of announcements, business deals and personal relationships. Xi Jinping’s officials are aware of this; they also know that now is not the time for Washington to open up another crisis front with Beijing, which is why the Trump approach has little effect on them. But there is one issue in particular where the White House’s manoeuvring with China is most evident. At the start of his second term, Donald Trump announced his intention to be the president who would free Americans unjustly detained around the world, and in September last year he signed an executive order to punish countries that use so-called hostage diplomacy. With Russia, he succeeded to some extent (at least two citizens were released, Marc Fogel and Robert Gilman), but with China, things turned out very differently. Chen Youlin, a 54-year-old American citizen and seismologist, was arrested in November 2024 whilst in Beijing to visit his family, on charges of espionage. During the meeting between Trump and Xi in Beijing last May, the U.S. president is said to have raised his case. The Chinese response came the following month, when another American scientist, Min Zin, of Burmese origin, was arrested in Kunming, where he was attending a conference at the invitation of the Chinese government – again on charges of espionage. The State Department has labelled both cases as “unjust detentions”; yet whilst the travel advisory for Russia, in accordance with US diplomatic protocol, is “Level 4” – meaning “do not travel” – the advisory for China remains at “Level 2”. Two weeks ago, the State Department’s official website was updated to tighten and expand the content of the travel advisory – with specific attention paid to Americans holding dual US and Taiwanese citizenship – but according to various activist groups and NGOs, this amounts to a watering down of the advisory, intended not to irritate China.

Trump will greet Xi Jinping at the airport – a welcome previously reserved only for Putin in Alaska – whilst America’s traditional allies are seeking ways to strengthen themselves independently. Meanwhile, the families of Chen Youlin and Min Zin are awaiting a response.