How China flipped the power balance with Trump during Xi's US visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington from September 23 to 25 marks his first trip to the U.S. since 2015, with President Donald Trump extending elaborate honors including a tarmac welcome, state dinner, and private tea, signaling Beijing's apparent success in setting terms with a militarily and domestically weakened American leader. This third meeting in under a year, framed by the U.N. General Assembly, reflects China's strategy of regular summit diplomacy to keep Trump engaged. Experts note substantive outcomes will likely be modest, with a possible mutual alert system on artificial intelligence threats to national security being among the few expected announcements. The visit underscores a shifted power dynamic, as Beijing leverages Trump's vulnerabilities to shape the bilateral agenda, though the ceremonial grandeur contrasts with limited concrete deliverables beyond the AI proposal.