Trump called President Xi a 'very special man'
Wesley Rahn, DW: How China's Xi upstaged Trump as the 'world leader'
President Donald Trump's Asia trip was an opportunity for the US to showcase itself as the supreme global power. Instead, President Xi Jinping grabbed the limelight and presented China as the new 'world leader.'
Xi Jinping's extravagant reception of Donald Trump in Beijing last week was a perfect opportunity for Xi to display his vision of establishing China as an economic and geopolitical equal to the US on the world stage.
President Xi has reached a political zenith in the wake of the 19th Chinese Communist Party Congress in October, during which he consolidated control over China's ruling elite and saw his political philosophy incorporated into the party constitution.
President Xi currently commands an unrivaled level of political power and he has been dubbed the "world's most powerful man" by several western media outlets.
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WNU Editor: When Chinese President Xi was in Mar-a-Lago in April, he deferred to President Trump. When President Trump was in Beijing .... he did the same thing. No one is upstaging anyone here. There are also two cultures at play right now, and we cannot use our Western cultural characteristics and biases to explain what the Chinese are doing. In the case of President Trump, it was important for him to not only show respect (and praise) to the Chinese President in China .... but to also give respect and praise to the Chinese people. Case in point .... the Western press and pundit class ridiculed President Trump's use of his grand-daughter to sing a Chinese song .... but in China .... the impact of the U.S. President's grand-daughter speaking and singing in Chinese had a huge impact on the Chinese people. The other example that comes to my mid was President Trump praising the Chinese that they are smarter than U.S. businessmen and U.S. politicians on the issue of trade. If there is one thing that I know about the Chinese .... it is that they loved to be acknowledged that they are smart and shrewd when it comes to affairs of the world. In the end .... I do not know if these negotiating tactics by President Trump will resolve trade issues, North Korea, border disputes, etc.. But I do know that in Asia .... whether we like it or not .... China is the regional power and President Xi is its leader, and we must respect that if we in the West want to be successful in achieving our goals in this part of the world.
