Trump-Xi summit: Red carpet and bombers reveal new era of managed rivalry

(Edited and refined by Bai Kelei, with the assistance of AI translation.)

US President Donald Trump received Chinese President Xi Jinping on a state visit this week with great pomp and unprecedented ceremony, pulling out all the stops and giving due respect. Surely, Xi and his delegation sensed this clearly the moment they arrived at Joint Base Andrews on 23 September.

A US military guard of honour lined the red carpet as Trump and his wife, Melania, stood beside the steps of the presidential aircraft to welcome Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, as they disembarked. A boy and a girl presented flowers, military bands played the national anthems of both countries, and a 21-gun salute was fired. The finale was a flypast by two B-1 bombers.

An even grander display of ceremony unfolded at the White House on the morning of 24 September, where a guard of honour comprising 479 servicemen and women from various branches of the US military welcomed Xi. Trump accompanied Xi in inspecting the guard in the Rose Garden and watching a military display, culminating in a flypast by a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and four F-22 Raptor fighter jets.

Red carpet backed by steel

Such a high-level welcome, particularly the President and First Lady travelling to the airport personally to greet a foreign head of state, is reportedly a first in more than 60 years. Its unprecedented nature vividly reflects a new configuration in the balance of power between China and the US.

Commentators have observed that, compared with Trump’s unexpected use of social media ahead of the China-US leaders’ summit in Busan last October to advance a “G2” narrative of equality between the two countries, the Washington summit has effectively put the G2 concept on a public noticeboard for the world to see. Some US scholars have also complained that the White House’s protocol this time has tilted disproportionately towards China.

Including a flypast by strategic bombers as part of the welcoming ceremony was another unusual move, one that bore Trump’s characteristic disregard for convention. The B-1 and B-2 strategic bombers are among the US military’s key heavy-hitting weapons, and the B-2, in particular, is one of the crown jewels of the US arsenal and the world’s most advanced strategic bomber.

The main strike force in the US military’s Operation Midnight Hammer, which attacked Iran’s underground nuclear facilities last June, comprised seven B-2s. Deploying such a weapon at a welcome ceremony carries a strong element of flexing military muscle. To Trump, this is perhaps no different from a wealthy family showing off its luxury cars. But it also brings to mind a Chinese saying: courtesy first, force second (先礼后兵).

Courtesy backed by force, and force within courtesy are all notions that may describe China-US relations. “Force” here can be interpreted broadly, encompassing fierce competition between the two countries across various fields, as well as their contest in hard power.

From this perspective, the White House’s exceptional welcome and its weapons salute may aptly symbolise the state of bilateral relations: fierce competition amid mutual respect, with neither side willing to be outdone by the other, but both broadly seeking a stable relationship.

For this leaders’ summit, signals publicly conveyed by Chinese scholars have generally been positive. Da Wei, director of the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, noted an important development in an article published in Foreign Affairs earlier this month: China’s approach to relations with the US is changing. It has shifted from rejecting the US framing of their relationship as one of competition to being willing to acknowledge that the essence of China-US relations is competitive.

Ultimately, if Beijing regarded the US as an ally or partner, it would not need to make “strategic stability” the overarching goal of bilateral ties; only rivals do. Da further argued that Beijing’s willingness to accept a bilateral relationship that requires managing competition, rather than eliminating it, reflects greater confidence in seeing itself as a competitor on equal footing with the US. This confident mindset may, in turn, make China more restrained in handling relations with the US and help to further stabilise bilateral ties.

Indeed, many Chinese scholars believe the Washington summit between the leaders may mark the beginning of a relatively more stable phase in China-US relations. Prominent issues and critical challenges between the two countries, including trade, technology and potential flashpoints in the Taiwan Strait remain unresolved, and fresh shocks and turbulence are unavoidable.

But both China and the US recognise that neither can defeat, change or disengage from the other. After fierce exchanges earlier in the tariff war, chip war and rare earth war, Trump’s view of China has also become more pragmatic.

Stabilising a volatile rivalry

In his Foreign Affairs article, Da wrote, “A confident Beijing and a pragmatic Washington can get along.”

This certainly does not mean that China-US relations will be free from or see less competition. On the contrary, they will continue to compete intensely across all fields, and this contest between great powers will persist for a long time. But the downward spiral in bilateral relations over the past eight years may well be temporarily put on hold. Some scholars have described the situation as “no cause for optimism, but none for pessimism either”.

A further affirmation of “strategic stability” amid intense China-US competition may be the most important outcome of the Trump-Xi Washington summit. A dramatic reversal in bilateral relations like that seen after Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to China is impossible, but they may gradually stabilise.

While no major breakthrough is likely from this summit, both sides can still work towards positive outcomes on trade, purchases of agricultural products and natural gas, and artificial intelligence cooperation. This would allow the summit to conclude successfully and fulfil its historic mission, as well as sustain a positive atmosphere between both countries.

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “中美元首华盛顿峰会的礼与兵”.

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