Countdown to Xi's U.S. Visit! U.S. Preparations in Chaos, Beijing Worried 'Trump-Xi Meeting' Could Be a Diplomatic Disaster

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, with only a few weeks left before Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States, China is feeling uneasy about the chaotic situation in the Trump administration and the inability to find a contact person to arrange the visit. This situation is a repeat of Trump's May visit to China, but this time the visit is led by the U.S., making China even more uneasy. On November 15, 2023, Xi Jinping gave a speech at a dinner with U.S. business leaders in San Francisco. (AP) The report said that just a few months ago, when U.S. President Trump made a historic visit to China, the chaotic preparation work by the U.S. side disappointed Chinese officials. However, history is repeating itself, and Beijing is watching the same situation unfold on the other side of the globe. According to sources, the September visit to the U.S. is Xi Jinping's first state visit to the U.S. since 2015, but the realization of related results has not progressed. It is said that Chinese officials are once again facing a Trump administration that lacks planning and coordination and is in disarray. A person familiar with the preparations said that so far, no U.S. officials or agencies have been responsible for organizing the visit, resulting in officials on both sides largely carrying out routine preparations in the absence of clear leadership. As was the case during Trump's May visit to China, when the Treasury Department and the U.S. Trade Representative's Office played a central role, the State Department has so far been largely absent. Sources added that the situation temporarily eased when Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Chao Xu visited the U.S. earlier, but this situation did not last. The official Chinese statement only states that Ma Chao Xu had in-depth exchanges with senior U.S. officials. At the Trump-Xi meeting, supporters of Xi Jinping welcomed the arrival of the Chinese president in Florida. (AP) Two people familiar with China's thinking said that these problems seem to be related to operations, logistics, and image, as both sides do not have high expectations for any substantive results from the September summit. The only specific discussion on the agenda is the reduction of tariffs on Chinese goods by about $300 billion. Chinese officials are particularly sensitive to the dynamics of the situation, as etiquette, venues, and public information will largely be controlled by the White House, which limits Beijing's ability to form opinions or avoid unexpected events. Sources said that the main reason for the slow progress of the plan is the discussions within Trump's inner circle, where there are still disagreements about the tone and framework of the visit. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, among others, are urging Trump to show superiority, while others hope Trump will ease relations with Xi Jinping. Trump previously proposed September 24 as the date for Xi Jinping's visit to the White House, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said last month that the visit is proceeding as planned. The visit by the Chinese leader comes as the two major economies are trying to stabilize relations. Previously, Xi Jinping and Trump agreed to build a 'constructive strategic stable relationship' at the Beijing summit in May 2023, but a series of confrontational measures taken by both countries in recent times have put this stability to the test.