At a Washington summit, Donald Trump gave Xi Jinping a lavish welcome, with a 21-gun salute and B-1B flyover. The analysis says the pageantry reflected shifting US-China leverage. They agreed to extend the trade truce for two months; an AI-risk hotline was discussed.
Rush Doshi, a Georgetown University professor and former Biden administration official, said Beijing believes it has “basically tamed” the United States. The analysis traces China’s leverage to last year’s rare-earth standoff: after Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods above 140%, Beijing threatened to choke off supplies, and Trump backed down.
The article says China was supplying Russia with dual-use technology and cites a Wall Street Journal report that Beijing supplied Iran with rocket propellant and electronic components used to make drones and missiles. Tehran was using the weapons against neighboring countries, with reports that they had killed US service personnel in the Gulf.
