Why China went out of its way to impress Donald Trump
Even the famously poised attendants at the Great Hall of the People — the sprawling seat of Chinese power off Tiananmen Square — were caught up in the excitement, momentarily forgetting protocol and posing with their colleagues for photographs in front of American and Chinese flags. This was because the buzz about the visit of Donald Trump had captivated Beijing for three days this week. It was all anyone in Beijing has been talking about, with China rolling out the red carpet for a former real estate tycoon known to be especially fond of flattery.
And Beijing certainly went out of its way to make Trump feel special, presenting what it called a “state visit-plus” going beyond normal protocol. Upon arrival on Wednesday, Trump and wife Melania were whisked away to the Forbidden City, where a waiting Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan gave them a private tour.
Trump was also given the honour of becoming the first foreign leader to dine on the grounds of the Forbidden City, formerly the site of imperial power, in the history of the People’s Republic. Beijing also ensured Trump was given $250 billion (Rs 16.3 lakh crore) worth of deals to take back home to show his base that was living up to his carefully burnished image as a “dealmaker”. Besides trade, North Korea was the other main concern for Trump, although Beijing offered no new commitment.
The Trump that appeared alongside Xi in front of the world’s media on Thursday was unrecognisable from the candidate who on the campaign trail last year slammed China for “raping” the US economy. Trump even went as far as saying he didn’t blame China for the trade deficit or for unfair trade practices and actually blamed past US administrations — a remarkable comment to make on Chinese soil, and no doubt one that will give his negotiators headaches in future dealings with their Chinese counterparts.
“Right now, unfortunately, it is a very onesided and unfair one,” Trump said of the massive deficit in trade. “But I don’t blame China. After all, who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens? I give China great credit. But, in actuality, I do blame past administrations for allowing this out-of-control trade deficit to take place and to grow.”
Then, at a bilateral meeting and later at a joint press briefing, Trump heaped praise on Xi. “My feeling toward you is an incredibly warm one. As we said, there’s great chemistry, and I think we're going to do tremendous things for both China and for the United States,” he said. Xi even managed to announce a deal to work together on his pet One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project.
Among the $250 billion (Rs 16.3 lakh crore) worth of agreements — which are, it is to be remembered, neither binding nor timebound — China’s Silk Road Fund and General Electric agreed to jointly cooperate on OBOR investments. Other deals were a $37 billion (Rs 2.4 lakh crore) agreement for Boeing and a $12 billion (Rs 78.1 thousand crore) deal between Chinese telecom companies Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo and US chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
(Courtesy of Mail Today.)