President Trump faces one of his most daunting diplomatic tests yet in his two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
President Trump arrived in Florida Thursday afternoon to wrap up a week’s worth of meetings with other world leaders in what will arguably be the most crucial diplomatic test of his presidency so far.
Trump is hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping , who was greeted by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson upon landing earlier in the day, at his lavish Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, for a two-day summit.
The agenda includes urgent items such as North Korea’s rising aggression. Aboard Air Force One, en route to the meeting, Trump offered a prediction on the outcome of discussions on that point.
“I think China will be stepping up,” Trump told reporters.
In an interview this past week with Financial Times , Trump suggested he would use trade as a negotiation point in pressuring China to directly engage with North Korea on curbing its nuclear program .
“I think trade is the incentive,” Trump said. “It is all about trade. “
But in terms of what tangible action Trump himself will actually achieve with Jinping in their first face-to-face meeting, several experts caution against setting the bar too high.
“I think U. S. trade policy is not yet in place, it’s still being hotly debated internally,” Dr. Nicholas Lardy said in a Wednesday briefing to reporters at the Center for National Interest, a public policy think tank in Washington, D. C. “I don’t think a great deal is going to change. “
Trump built a reputation not just through his candidacy but also over decades in business by talking tough on China, calling for firm action on the country’s controversial trade practices and lampooning multiple U. S. presidents for showing weakness in their interaction.
Absent a significant commitment from Jinping on dealing with North Korea, Trump warned in his Financial Times interview that it’s possible the U. S. would elect to “solve” the problem.
“The North Korean threat is no longer business as usual,” said Lt. Gen. Wallace Gregson (Ret.), the senior director for China and the Pacific at the Center for National Interest. His message aligns with the Trump Administration’s position that “all options” should be on the table.
“They’re bad, and they’re bold, and they’re going to achieve nuclear capability,” he said. “We need to take them at their word on that. “
Other significant issues expected to come up in the meetings include cyber warfare, China’s continued incursion into the South China Sea, and whether Trump will reiterate the U. S. commitment to the one-China policy after his call with Taiwan’s president during the transition period.
That the meeting will be held on the Mar-a-Lago compound presents some uncertainty as to how much the press will be briefed on the negotiations. The White House hasn’t yet said whether there will be the traditional joint press conference when U. S. presidents welcome world leaders.
But absent a major diplomatic snafu, experts said Trump and the White House are likely to promote this as a major opportunity for some much-needed course correction away from the negative headlines consuming Washington.
“I would not be at all surprised if we did something that would be very dramatic and good for both countries,” Trump said last week.
Joining Trump on the trip are chief of staff Reince Priebus, senior counselor Steve Bannon, national security adviser H. R. McMaster, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
