But the close economic ties between China and Iran, as well as trade tensions stemming from threats of tariffs dating back to Trump’s first term, may overshadow the positive sentiment during Trump’s visit to Beijing this week, even though the Republican president has for years praised Xi Jinping, making it clear that he considers the Chinese leader a strong enough competitor to command his respect and admiration.
Trump does not prefer long flights or staying for long periods of time away from the White House or his properties in Florida and New Jersey, where Trump is expected to spend only parts of three days in China, according to the Associated Press.
The visit is expected to receive a large official ceremony, but it will most likely not reach the level of Trump’s first visit to China in 2017, which Beijing described at the time as a “distinguished state visit.”
The former director of China affairs at the National Security Council during the Biden administration, Jonathan Chen, said, “Even before this escalation with Iran, China would not have given the visit the character of a distinguished state visit as they did last time, because the atmosphere is tense.”
