Chorus of disapproval rises ahead of the Chinese leader’s arrival

Hours before President Xi Jinping’s aircraft lands at Joint Base Andrews, Washington is preparing for a scene that seemed unthinkable in recent years: his American counterpart waiting on the tarmac for the leader of a country that much of the US national security establishment regards as its foremost strategic adversary.

While the Donald Trump administration is betting on warmth, deals and stability with Beijing, recent public surveys show that American anxiety over China has eased from its 2024 peak.

But the China hawks who helped shape the debate have spent the week warning that the ceremony risks obscuring a more familiar reality: Beijing remains a rival, and the issues that have defined that rivalry have not gone away.

They are making that case from outside the room. Since Trump returned to the White House, the chorus has lost resonance inside the building and with the public. The US president has disputed their arguments himself while calling Xi a “great gentleman”.