BEIJING: President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday for a state visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a restless moment for a world worried about war, trade and artificial intelligence.
“We’re the two superpowers,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House on Tuesday. “We’re the strongest nation on Earth in terms of military. China’s considered second.”
While Trump likes to project a sense of strength, the state visit occurs at a delicate moment for his presidency as his popularity at home has been weighed down by the US and Israel’s war with Iran and rising inflation as a consequence of that conflict. The president is seeking a win by signing deals with China to buy more American food and aircraft, saying he’ll be talking with Xi about trade “more than anything else.”