He has accused China of hacking America’s elections and plundering its wealth, yet President Donald Trump has showered the visiting Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, with tributes and affection during their summit meeting this week at the White House.
asserted
Trump → accuse → House
Trump met his Chinese counterpart on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, outside Washington on Wednesday rather than wait back at the White House for an official greeting.
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Trump → meet → greeting
It’s the first time he has ever shown a visiting world leader that courtesy.
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he → ’ → courtesy
Trump rolled out a red carpet not once but twice for Xi.
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Trump → roll → Xi
The leaders walked side by side down a 100-foot-long red carpet after Xi’s Air China plane landed at Andrews.
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plane → walk → Andrews
Another red carpet was laid out Thursday morning when Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, arrived at the White House for the summit’s first full day.
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Xi → lay → day
In the evening, Trump feted Xi at a state dinner whose menu included sesame-crusted sea bass and braised bok choy, followed by a dessert of vanilla crémeux and honey ice cream.
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menu → fete → crémeux
President Trump in landmark meeting with China’s leader
“As the leaders of our two nations, President Xi and I both understand that we represent different systems, but the ties between our people endure, and we’ve never gotten along better since the first trade ships from New York left the harbor to arrive on the banks of the Pearl River
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ships → understand → River
,” Trump said at the dinner.
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Trump → say → dinner
He gave his guest a statue of a bald eagle as a gift.
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He → give → gift
All the pomp and ceremony might appear unusual given Trump’s past complaints that China has meddled in elections and exploited the U.S. through trade.
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China → appear → trade
Just two months ago, Trump gave a rare primetime speech asserting that China interfered in the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
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he → give → Biden
But Trump, who has long believed that personal relationships are key to managing geopolitical tensions, has set out to charm the Chinese leader.
“From the time of my first election in 2016, President Xi and I have forged a friendship — a truly great friendship, actually — built on mutual respect and the vital interests of our people,” Trump said Thursday morning in joint public statements he and Xi made before they held a private meeting in the Oval Office.
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they → believe → Office
Xi struck a cordial tone in his remarks, saying he and Trump have developed a “personal rapport and stayed in touch.”
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he → strike → touch
He also made an announcement certain to delight American children and anyone who has ever logged on to a panda-cam feed for a respite from life’s pressures: China will soon send two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shang, to the Atlanta zoo, Xi said.
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Xi → make → zoo
In an unusual rebuke from a member of Trump’s own party, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday in a speech on the Senate floor that, “quite frankly, had the White House asked me for advice, I would have suggested the president not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here in the United States of America, based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.”
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we → say → Xi
China may also have aided Iran in the war with the U.S.
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China → aid → U.S.
An F-15 fighter jet that was shot down over Iran in April was most likely hit by a Chinese-made shoulder-launched missile, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News.
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people → shoot → News
And in the early days of the seven-month-old conflict, China may have given Iran radar capabilities to help spot stealth aircraft, according to one of the people and a U.S. official with knowledge of the matter.
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China → give → matter
Honoring the leader of the world’s largest communist country may also undercut an argument Trump has made to discredit Democrats in the midterm elections.
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Trump → honor → elections
He has warned repeatedly that Democratic candidates would steer the U.S. in a communist direction if they are elected.
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they → warn → direction
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told NBC News on Thursday, “I personally look at the red-carpet treatment and thought it was a little bit over the top.”
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it → tell → top
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said in an interview that while he didn’t mind seeing Xi thrown a dinner, “I don’t think the president ought to believe his bull----.”
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president → say → bull----
After the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, the Iranian regime exerted a chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping lane for oil supplies.
Xi “could open up that strait with a phone call, and in a myriad of ways, he is helping Iran with military equipment, intelligence,” Kennedy said.
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Kennedy → launch → equipment
“The guy learned to lie before he learned to talk.”
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he → learn → ?
No substantive breakthroughs are expected at the summit, foreign policy experts said.
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experts → expect → summit
The two presidents were set to discuss trade, the Iran war and artificial intelligence, among other issues that have divided the U.S. and China.
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that → set → U.S.
Trump entered the summit in a weakened posture, experts said, vexed by the prolonged Iran war and looming midterm congressional elections in which his party could lose its slim majority.
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party → enter → majority
He lacks the leverage needed to wring concessions from China, experts said.
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experts → lack → China
Mark Montgomery, a retired Navy admiral, said at a pre-summit event hosted by the FDD think tank: “We have a president entering this playing a weak hand.
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We → say → hand
I’m not 100% sure President Trump knows he’s playing a weak hand.
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he → ’m → hand
I am 100% sure that leader Xi knows Trump is playing a weak hand.”
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Trump → know → hand
One area of cooperation might be the creation of a hotline that the U.S. and China could use to cope with an emergency arising from rapidly evolving AI technology, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested in an interview on “Fox & Friends” this week.
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Rubio → use → Fox
“It’s not a bad idea; it’s one that we’ll explore with the Chinese, among others,” Rubio said.
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Rubio → ’ → others
Along with closed-door meetings, Trump made a point to show off his prized White House projects.
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Trump → make → projects
He took Xi outside to see the helipad he built on the South Lawn.
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he → take → Lawn
Both men pointed down at the granite base.
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men → point → base
When the leaders passed the press corps at one point, Trump said, “We had a great meeting.”
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We → pass → meeting
He said Xi was “an expert on stone, aside from many other things, and he loves good granite.”
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he → say → granite
Xi said nothing.
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Xi → say → nothing
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
