From the moment China's President Xi Jinping arrived in America and was personally greeted by Donald Trump on the tarmac, the expectations were set for a history-making summit.
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expectations → arrive → summit
It had been more than 60 years since a sitting US president had personally welcomed a visiting political leader on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews.
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president → sit → Andrews
And the rare honour was a calculated move by Washington, designed to show the two leaders more as political allies than foes.
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leaders → design → foes
It's a stunning turnaround from just one year ago, when China and America were locked in a bitter and hostile trade war, that saw Xi stare down the tariff threats of his American counterpart — and win.
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Xi → lock → counterpart
Now, Trump says the two countries have "never gotten along better" and has hailed a "truly great friendship" with Xi.
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countries → say → Xi
But while it may appear that Xi has now tamed the US president — known for his admiration of so-called strongmen — the description of the pair's relationship as a "great friendship" is a wild overreach of Beijing's position.
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description → appear → position
China wants to go steady
China does not want conflict with the US or a US intervention that would contain or constrain Beijing's global economic and geopolitical ambitions.
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that → want → ambitions
But the communist superpower is not seeking a friendship with America.
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superpower → seek → America
For now, reading between the lines of state media, China appears to be satisfied with "stability" and buying time on issues that could put the two superpowers on a course for a military collision.
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that → read → collision
And the outcomes of this summit — or more the lack thereof — clearly demonstrate the greater US-Sino relationship is still underpinned by deeply held differences and divisions.
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relationship → demonstrate → differences
Both sides went into this round of talks with four great "T"s on the agenda — trade, tech, Taiwan and Tehran.
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sides → go → agenda
They were the same thorny topics that dominated discussions when Trump came to Beijing to meet with Xi earlier this year.
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Trump → dominate → Xi
But as with the China summit, little movement was made on each of these contentious issues.
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movement → make → issues
The delicate trade-war truce between both nations still hasn't been resolved, even though China would have liked it extended by a year.
Beijing made no commitments to pressure Iran into finding a solution to the ongoing Middle East war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global trade.
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Beijing → resolve → trade
The US also gave no ground on arms sales to Taiwan, despite Xi urging Trump to oppose the island's "independence".
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Xi → give → independence
And when it comes to the tech industry, the two countries are both still surging ahead to win the AI race.
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countries → come → race
The absence of major announcements isn't a great surprise — few US-Sino watchers expected any concrete deliverables to come out of the summit.
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deliverables → expect → summit
But it's the seeming friendliness of Trump with Xi that has evoked concern, not only from Senate Democrats but from some within Trump's own party, who are uneasy at the change in a once-hawkish tone.
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who → seem → tone
Republican Senator Roger Wicker, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, suggested Xi should not have been asked to visit Washington, nor hosted at a state dinner.
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Xi → suggest → dinner
The lavishness of the reception from Trump is a geopolitical gift for Xi, who some observers could conclude has mastered how to manage one of the world's most unpredictable leaders.
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observers → conclude → leaders
And while Xi may not have got everything he wanted — including the commitment to block a record $US14 billion arms sale to Taiwan or locking in a longer-lasting trade truce — the cordiality shown by Trump gives Xi a largely unchallenged path to continue pushing China's global geopolitical and economic agenda.
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cordiality → get → agenda
Those global ambitions include a push to be seen as a diplomatic kingmaker to rival the United States, challenging US hegemony, and increasing its soft power across the globe.
And according to new research by the PEW Research Center, Americans' feelings about China have warmed in recent years.
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feelings → include → years
This self-defined success of this week's talks also sets the stage for two potential future bilateral meetings this year — one on the sidelines of APEC in China's Shenzhen in November, and another at the G20 summit in Miami in December.
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success → define → December
The Aporia
