Thursday’s meeting in Beijing between President Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, took place mostly behind closed doors. Still, the first day of the summit between the leaders of the two most powerful countries produced some revelatory moments about each of the men, their leadership styles and their motivations as they navigate the world’s most significant geopolitical rivalry.
Here are some moments that stood out during the summit, which took place at the Great Hall of the People:
A Grand Welcome
Mr. Xi welcomed the American president with a grand parade, featuring both the Chinese military and a crowd of cheering children, some holding bouquets and American flags. At one point, Mr. Trump stopped to applaud the children.
“That was an honor like few I’ve ever seen before,” Mr. Trump said. “And I think I was particularly impressed by those children. They were happy. They were beautiful. The military is obvious. It couldn’t be better. But those children were amazing.”
A Clash of Styles
The opening remarks of each president revealed much about their personal styles. Mr. Xi adopted an almost philosophical tone about the role of great nations on the global stage and Mr. Trump employed his signature style of flattery and exaggeration.
Speaking in Chinese, Mr. Xi cautioned against the “Thucydides Trap” — a concept rooted in the ancient rivalry between Athens and Sparta, which suggests that an established world power tends to be threatened by a rising one, leading to a clash. Mr. Xi urged Mr. Trump and the United States to avoid the mind-set that led the ancient Greek city-states to war.
“As the once-in-a-century transformation accelerates and the international landscape undergoes change and turmoil, the world has reached a new crossroads,” Mr. Xi said. “Can China and the United States overcome the ‘Thucydides Trap’ and establish a new paradigm for relations between great powers?”
For his turn, Mr. Trump boasted of the long relationship he has had with Mr. Xi, and the ease with which he persuaded top business executives to join the visit.
“There are those that say this is maybe the biggest summit ever,” Mr. Trump said. “They can never remember anything like it.”
The Taiwan Ultimatum
Many observers closely watched how the two leaders would approach the issue of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.
Mr. Xi made clear that if the United States sided too heavily with Taiwan, it could bring Beijing and Washington into conflict.
Xinhua, China’s official news agency, released a readout of the meeting, which included Mr. Xi’s warning to Mr. Trump on the matter: “Handled well, the two countries can maintain stability. If handled poorly, the two countries will collide or even clash, putting the entire U.S.-China relationship in an extremely dangerous situation,” he said.
Afterward, Mr. Trump was mum when asked by reporters about Taiwan.
In Search of Deals
Accompanying Mr. Trump to Beijing were some of America’s richest business leaders, including Tim Cook of Apple, Elon Musk of Tesla and Jensen Huang of Nvidia.
Mr. Trump claimed 30 business leaders would join him on the trip, but only 14 were with him at the Great Hall.
“We asked the top 30 in the world,” Mr. Trump told the Chinese leader. “Every single one of them said yes, and I didn’t want the second or the third in the company. I wanted only the top. And they’re here today to pay respects to you, to China, and they look forward to trade and good business. It’s going to be totally reciprocal on our behalf.”
The Trump Organization
One business leader who was at the Great Hall, and shook hands with Mr. Xi, was Eric Trump, the president’s son. Eric Trump is running the family business while his father is in the White House.
His presence could raise questions about potential blurred lines between the government and the Trump family’s business interests. The Trump Organization said Eric Trump would be traveling to China only to support his father, and would not pursue business while there.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Trump Organization said that “Eric is deeply proud of his father and the accomplishments of this term, and is attending in a personal capacity as a supportive son. He does not have business ventures in China nor plans on doing business in China.”
Luke Broadwater covers the White House for The Times.
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