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Current Affairs

Why China is playing it cool amid Trump’s disruption and churn

When the presidents of the United States and China meet in Washington, the world will be watching to see whether their two countries can make…

By Samantha Johnson / September 18, 2026

When the presidents of the United States and China meet in Washington, the world will be watching to see whether their two countries can make good on their agreement to work towards “constructive strategic stability”. In the first part of a series, Mark Magnier looks at expectations in the US for the summit.

Chinese planners have been frustrated for months at the slow speed of decision-making and limited engagement by a distracted US administration as the days tick down to next week’s high-stakes summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

This may advantage Beijing by precluding trade and security concessions that require extensive groundwork, according to former US officials, analysts and people involved in coordinating the visit.

“How are we going to get anything done if we can’t even agree on the basic logistics,” said a person involved in planning. “The Chinese are … not thrilled with it. But as a result, we have ever-shrinking expectations for the visit, and the Chinese are OK with that too.”

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