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Chinese State Media Hails Trump Xi Jinping Meetingsource: pjmedia.com Although overshadowed by the U.S. strike on Syria, the meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping showed that confrontation between the two superpowers was not inevitable and that both sides appeared to be "equally enthusiastic about the constructive relationship they have promised to cultivate," according to Chinese state-run media. By all reports, the meetings between the two leaders were constructive and cordial with a frank exchange of views, according to the BBC. The U.S. president also accepted an invitation from President Xi to visit China later this year. "Both the atmosphere and the chemistry between the two leaders was positive... all of us are feeling very good about the results of this summit," said Mr Tillerson. An official state paper of the Chinese government, China Daily, celebrated the cordial atmosphere of the meetings. "This may sound surreal to those preoccupied with an 'inescapable' conflict scenario between what they see as rising and incumbent powers," the newspaper wrote in an editorial. Contrast this treatment of President Trump with the last time President Obama visited China. At the G-20 meeting last September, the Chinese forced Obama to exit his plane from the rear and were less than welcoming on the tarmac -- a clear and calculated snub by the protocol-conscious Chinese. Both men got some of what they wanted out of the meeting. Xi wished to establish the basis of a personal relationship with President Trump to show that growing a strong China-U.S. partnership was possible. For his part, President Trump wanted to begin a negotiating process that could alter the way the two countries do business. He also wanted to show his critics that he was more than capable of holding his own while in the same room as the experienced Xi. There will still be areas of disagreement, including Chinese actions in the South China Sea and their relationship with North Korea. But the two leaders got off to a promising start -- much to the surprise of many who see the U.S. and China on a collision course that would inevitably lead to war. |