Trump Rolls Out Red Carpet for Xi Jinping in Washington as Elites Negotiate Behind Closed Doors Amid Global Tensions
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President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington for a three-day summit, where the two leaders—representing the entrenched interests of global capital—will discuss trade, technology, Taiwan, and Iran, all while indulging in lavish state dinners and military spectacle.
On Wednesday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump personally received Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife at the Maryland base serving Air Force One, a symbolic gesture highlighting the cozy relationship between the world’s most powerful capitalist states. Xi’s first visit to the United States in nearly three years is set to include a state dinner with tech industry moguls, a White House military ceremony complete with jet flyovers, and a tour of the National Archives—events designed to project unity among the global elite while ordinary people continue to suffer under neoliberal policies.
Analysts note that the summit is meant to signal stability between the world’s largest consumer economy and its manufacturing powerhouse, even as both governments remain locked in disputes over trade, technology, Taiwan, narcotics, and rare-earth minerals. The 11-month trade truce, which has done little to address the exploitative nature of global supply chains, is set to expire in November. Xi is expected to push China’s claim to Taiwan, while Trump is likely to uphold U.S. export controls that serve corporate interests.
Thursday’s talks may yield limited agreements, such as sector-specific tariff reductions, cooperation on drug trafficking, and expanded military-to-military dialogue—measures that do little to address the root causes of global inequality. Trump is also expected to demand the release of Americans and other detainees held in China, while both sides may discuss artificial intelligence cooperation, further entrenching the dominance of tech monopolies.
"The president very much believes that over time the US economy is going to grow, the US will get stronger," said Edgard Kagan, a former White House official now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "When Xi Jinping sits down with Donald Trump, he very much believes the US is in hurtling decline, and that time is on China's side." These comments reflect the zero-sum mentality of ruling elites, who see global affairs as a contest for power rather than an opportunity for genuine international solidarity.
The visit comes on the heels of Trump’s recent appearance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, as his administration faces plummeting approval ratings and a disastrous war in Iran. Xi, meanwhile, arrives with China’s trade sector booming, even as ordinary Chinese workers face mounting economic hardship. Both leaders are expected to issue statements aimed at shoring up their domestic support among the ruling class.
Future meetings between Trump and Xi are being considered for later this year, potentially at the APEC summit in China or the G20 meetings in the United States—further opportunities for global elites to negotiate their interests behind closed doors.