Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington may not have delivered much in the way of substance, but for Chinese state media it achieved its most important goal: the projection of China as the equal of the United States on the world stage.
“This paves the way for great powers to co-exist,” Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily said of the visit. “Highly appreciated by all sectors in the United States,” reads the official Xinhua news agency.
“Xi got face and great recognition for his leadership and peer status,” said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington.
Xi’s skillful handling of U.S. President Donald Trump offers him stability in China’s most important relationships and more time to prepare for the party congress in Beijing next year, during which he is expected to secure a fourth five-year term.
It also bought China time to try to revive an economy suffering from a prolonged real estate malaise while improving its technology to compete with the United States, particularly in AI.
China demonstrated its ability to take on the United States in last year’s trade war, analysts say, when it thwarted U.S. tariffs and export controls by reducing the supply of rare earths essential to high-tech industry. China is the main source of these minerals.
The two countries agreed to a two-month extension of the truce in their trade war signed last October and pledged to resolve issues such as rare earths in the coming months.
On Monday, U.S. and Chinese officials announced a reduced tariff regime covering $60 billion of non-sensitive products, aiming to inject more stability into relations between the powers.
Trump also helped accelerate perceptions of Beijing’s rise through his apparent desire to befriend the Chinese president.
“One thing stands out: Xi is now seen as a peer and equal to the US president, and Trump has accelerated that process with this state visit,” said Yu Jie, a China expert at Chatham House, a British think tank. “That’s the whole purpose of a state visit and the best possible outcome for Beijing.”
The two leaders reached an agreement to “exchange views on the risks and benefits of AI,” according to China’s Foreign Ministry.
The language has been tougher on Iran, with China saying “Iran should honor its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons” and reiterating its position that no country should “impose tolls on international waterways.”
There was also talk of cooperation to combat fentanyl trafficking – a long-standing US demand.
“To give credit to President Trump, Xi’s visit this time generated more specific results than Trump’s visit to Beijing in May,” said George Chen, partner and president of digital practice at Asia Group, a consultancy.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, David Perdue, the US envoy to Beijing, said Trump also asked Xi whether China was interested in buying US weapons. It’s unclear when the comments were made, but they sparked criticism in the United States because China is seen as its biggest military rival.
Although the two countries’ joint statements made no mention of Taiwan, one of Xinhua’s main articles on the visit contained Xi’s tough language on the issue. He reiterated the threat of conflict if the United States supported the “independence” of Taiwan, over which Beijing claims sovereignty.
“If mismanaged, the two countries may even clash, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a very dangerous situation,” Xi said, according to Xinhua.
“China attempted to ensure a change in US policy across the Strait in its statement, urging Washington to ‘adhere to the correct position of opposing Taiwan independence,'” said Ali Wyne, senior research and advocacy adviser for the US and China at the International Crisis Group.
Xi’s statement reflects his “belief that he can gradually win concessions from an admiring U.S. counterpart,” Wyne said.
There are also signs that Beijing will try to use the growing proximity between Xi and Trump to try to drive the United States and its allies, such as Japan, apart. Beijing hit Japan with export controls after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said last year that a war between China and Taiwan could be existential for her country.
“Japan’s alliance boss – the superpower that once promised unconditional support for Japan – is now building (a) constructive relationship with China,” wrote the Communist Party tabloid Global Times. This meant that Washington would not be willing to intervene to support Japan in its disputes with China, the newspaper said.
For the first time, the Chinese and U.S. presidents made state visits six months apart and plan to meet two more times, all in less than a year.
Official Chinese optimism about Xi’s policies was on full display Monday.
A front-page article in the People’s Daily, titled “The path for great powers to coexist harmoniously is at our feet,” traces the leader’s journey, from his landing in Washington under an “azure sky” to his long journey home, “across mountains and seas.”
“The evolving relationship between China and the United States shows the fresh air and transformative influence that China, a major Eastern power, while steadily marching toward its great rejuvenation, brings to the world,” the paper said.
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