Trump-Xi Summit Criticized as 'Diplotainment' Over Substance on Key Issues

1. Diplomacy or ‘diplotainment’?

Senate Democrats criticised Trump’s summit with Xi, saying it prioritised pageantry over substance on the major issues. There was no sign a brief closed-door meeting yielded breakthroughs on the thorny issues of AI, trade, Taiwan and the war with Iran.

Both countries agreed to extend until 10 January an agreement pausing their trade war, but experts said there were few other obvious tangible outcomes.

Xi once again invoked the “Thucydides Trap”, an academic theory that competition between a rising power and an established one often results in war. Xi said the risk “can be overcome” and urged cooperation.

After their meeting, Trump gave Xi a tour of the new helipad he had recently constructed on the White House’s South Lawn. “He loves good granite,” Trump told reporters, adding the two men had a “great meeting” ​without elaborating.

Danny Russel, a former US diplomat serving in the Obama administration, expressed concern that the two leaders spent more time on social and ceremonial events than the actual meeting, which was about 90 minutes.

“Pageantry and protocol don’t add up to progress. Pandas are cute, but what America needs are rare earths,” said Russel. “What we’re seeing isn’t diplomacy so much as ‘diplotainment,’ which won’t do much to solve the serious problems in the US-China relationship.”

2. AI unchecked

AI analysts were forced to read between the lines to gauge the outcome of AI discussions between the pair.

Trump had written in a Truth Social post on Thursday morning that he and Xi would discuss “super intelligence” (Trump’s newly coined term for AI) but suggested he had little interest in new regulations, despite concerns from industry leaders that AI could eventually pose a threat to humans.

“Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of ⁠discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is,” Trump wrote. “That is China’s position also.”

During his comments on Thursday, Xi said both countries must “ensure that the development of AI is always ​under human control”.

Analysts say intense competition between the two powers in AI is likely to limit the scope for ​anything beyond symbolic agreements.

3. Taiwan and stalled $14bn arms deal

During ​the afternoon discussion, Xi urged Trump to oppose “Taiwan independence,” according to a readout from the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. The White House did not immediately provide its own summary.

Xi was expected to press Trump to halt arms sales to Taiwan. After his visit to China in May, Trump said he was holding in ⁠abeyance an arms package to Taiwan worth about $14bn and called it a “very good negotiating chip” – rattling some US allies in Asia.

In a statement signed by at least 19 ⁠of 47 members of the Senate Democrats caucus, seen by Reuters, ​Democrats on Thursday called on Trump to ‌immediately deliver the security assistance package Congress has approved – $1.3bn in funds and the $14bn arms sale.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out using force to gain control over the island.

4. Unusual airport greeting

Trump greeted Xi on arrival with a red carpet on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, the ‌first time a US president has welcomed a foreign leader there since Barack Obama met Pope Francis in 2015. Normally, presidents wait for state visit guests to arrive at the White House before offering a formal welcome.

For months, Trump has derided Democrats as “communists”, but the president’s welcome for Xi included Chinese flags adorning the roof above the Oval Office alongside US flags.

Despite the fanfare, Trump and Xi’s remarks during the trip were not carried live by any US television networks, which refused to provide footage in protest of the White House’s ban of CNN, MS Now and Politico.