Xi Jinping's US Visit Lifts Mood, But Political Divide Remains

Beyond the summit: how US-China relations could still unravel

The noticeably jollier mood at this year’s Chinese National Day reception in Washington followed President Xi Jinping’s short but successful state visit to the US, but it did not erase the political divide surrounding the relationship.

A warmer tone after Xi’s visit

The reception felt noticeably more relaxed than similar events in recent years, according to the account of the gathering.

Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng delivered an upbeat opening speech and even joked about the panda ambassadors at his own expense.

That lighter atmosphere reflected the high-level optics of Xi’s visit, during which his counterpart, President Donald Trump, gave him an unprecedented reception.

The reception, the source says, would have flattered even the most fastidious of guests.

But the contrast between the embassy and the wider political environment was clear.

Outside the embassy, the mood was described as decidedly different.

Democrats and media reject the optics

The opposition Democrats criticised Trump’s cosying up to “communist” China, presenting it as another example of what they called his misguided foreign policy.

They also described the approach as a betrayal of American allies and a sell-out of national interests.

The criticism showed that the reception offered no shared political reading of the visit inside the United States.

The mainstream media, meanwhile, was already locked in a feud with Trump over his ban on media access to the White House.

It either downplayed the visit or focused on what it saw as a lack of tangible progress.

Even Trump’s allies admitted in private that the timing “was not right” to expect a major breakthrough.

Why the summit’s optics may not last

The warmer diplomatic presentation therefore sits alongside unresolved friction over tech exports, investments and domestic politics.

Those tensions threaten to pull US-China ties back off track despite the positive symbolism of Xi’s state visit and the unusually high-level reception.

The reception may have sounded more confident, and the visit may have produced friendlier public optics, but the reaction from Democrats, the media and even Trump’s allies points to the limits of that change.

For now, the divide between the mood inside the embassy and the political response outside it remains the clearest indication that the relationship is still vulnerable.

Source: South China Morning Post