Xi Praises MAGA, Trump Downplays Taiwan at Summit
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- Xi Jinping praised the MAGA movement at a state banquet, comparing it to China’s grand national rejuvenation and stating that making America great again can be done in parallel with China’s rejuvenation.
- Trump downplayed Taiwan’s strategic importance at the summit, refusing to defend Taiwan based on traditional deterrence logic and urging Taiwan to adjust arms sales to pursue “constructive strategic stability.”
- No formal agreement on Taiwan was reached during the summit, which relieved U.S. China hawks.
- Xi set a three‑year timeframe, aiming to use the remaining three years of Trump’s term to normalize Sino‑U.S. relations.
- The article notes that Xi is the only foreign leader to explicitly praise the MAGA movement, while others such as Putin, Bolsonaro, Orbán, and Netanyahu have only indirectly praised Trump or his policies.
- The author claims the praise boosts Trump’s domestic and international image and suggests the MAGA movement could persist beyond his presidency, carried by younger leaders like Vice President J D Vance.
Why it matters: Trump gains a diplomatic win and a boost to his tarnished image, while China hawks lose leverage on Taiwan, and the three‑year roadmap offers a window for stable Sino‑U.S. ties that could curb escalation and may shape U.S. electoral politics by reinforcing the MAGA narrative.
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