Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) with US President Donald Trump (R) with children in ChinaWhite House via Flick
Heather Timmons, Quartz: Beijing is playing Trump “like a fiddle,” an ex-ambassador to China says
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s recent hosting of Donald Trump was a masterclass in how to make the US president comfortable—feed him familiar food, take him on his favorite outing, golf, and tell him how much you like him.
But Chinese president Xi Jinping added a creamy layer of pomp and circumstance to the mix when the White House delegation reached Beijing. Trump has been feted with everything from an unprecedented private dinner in the Forbidden City to a red carpet welcome across from Tiananmen Square, the Beijing landmark where hundreds of students were killed by the Chinese military in 1989.
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WNU Editor: If China is playing President Trump "like a fiddle", he certainly did not get the memo .... Trump at APEC summit says U.S. will no longer be taken advantage of on trade (Washington Times). Truth be told .... the Chinese are excellent hosts, especially to those that they respect. In my own case .... when I worked in China in the 1980s my hosts were always gracious, generous, and they spoiled me like crazy. But that never impacted my work, my agenda, and the role that I had to play .... nor did the Chinese expect this treatment to compromise my position. Pleasure and socializing is one thing .... business is another. I knew that. The Chinese knew that. And I am willing to bet that both President Trump and Chinese President Xi know that. President Trump treated President Xi when he visited the U.S. in April with the utmost respect and dignity .... President Xi responded in kind. That is what two men who respect each other do.
Hat tip to Fred for the above link.
