France Broadcasting Corporation's analysis of the Xi-Sichuan meeting: Big pageantry but little effect, major problems difficult to break through

Radio France Internationale (RFI) Chinese website analyzed today and pointed out that US President Trump gave Chinese President Xi Jinping high-level courtesy when he visited the United States, but "big pomp and small effect, major problems are difficult to break through."

French French website reported that Trump and his wife rarely picked up the plane in person and held a grand welcome ceremony at the White House, with a band in traditional costumes, a military honor guard in formal attire, and a fighter jet formation performance. Trump and Xi held talks in the Oval Office of the White House.

France Broadcasting Corporation pointed out that reports from China's official Xinhua News Agency described this as a "small-scale exchange" between the two leaders. It was less formal and solemn than the Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing in May, and more private. It seemed to be in line with the atmosphere that Trump claimed that he and Xi Jinping had a "special relationship."

The report pointed out that what Trump wants to do is to "repay" the warm reception China gave him when he visited Beijing in May, and then sit down for talks. Trump’s courtesy to Xi Jinping exceeded outsiders’ imagination, so much so that the most important Trump-Xi meeting “seemed to be submerged in a series of dazzling grand ceremonies.”

Regarding Xinhua News Agency's report that Xi Jinping asked the United States to "handle the Taiwan issue with caution," FRF analyzed that this sentence has modified the United States' stance on Taiwan to a certain extent. The United States has always adhered to its stance on Taiwan and does not support Taiwan's independence. At the Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing in May, Xi Jinping made similar statements, but the US position has not changed. Many analysts believe that it is very unlikely for the United States to modify this statement.

Dennis Wilder, the former China Affairs Director of the White House National Security Council, predicted that Trump is unlikely to want to raise the Taiwan issue because "he feels that the status quo is very acceptable and there is no reason to break the status quo." The relevant content disclosed so far is mainly China’s demands.

Many experts believe that one of Trump's top priorities is the war with Iran. As Trump faces midterm elections, oil prices have soared. Voters are dissatisfied with conflicts in the Middle East and accuse him of ignoring the difficulties people face in making ends meet. Trump wants Iran's ally China to put pressure on Tehran.

Bonnie Glaser, director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund, a Washington think tank, analyzed that Trump may want to know what actions Xi Jinping is willing to take, perhaps to encourage Iran to return to the negotiating table, or perhaps China will reduce its purchases of Iranian oil.