Trump’s China pragmatism is welcome

Regular readers of this column know that I have not been a fan of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy in his second term. From threatening to seize Greenland and annex Canada, unilaterally raising tariffs sky-high to the fiasco of the Iran war, Trump has been reckless, chaotic and deeply destabilizing. But he might well turn out to have the right instincts — and perhaps even the right policy — in one crucial arena: the U.S.-China relationship.

In Trump’s recent interactions with Chinese President Xi Jinping, we saw a version of him rarely on display. He was respectful, almost deferential, eager to emphasize their personal rapport. Xi, by contrast, remained formal, disciplined and never especially warm. The asymmetry was revealing.

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