Donald Trump appeared unusually subdued in Beijing on Thursday after a private meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the US president offering only a brief answer to reporters after Chinese officials said Taiwan had featured prominently in the talks.
Trump had arrived in the Chinese capitalon Wednesday night with senior administration officials anda group of Silicon Valley chief executivesahead of meetings with Xi on Thursday and Friday. The visit opened with all the ceremony expected of a state occasion, including a red carpet, a cannon salute, an honour guard and children waving flags, before the two men began their first round of talks at the Great Hall of the People.
Early on, the public optics were almost absurdly cordial. Xi told Trump that 'the whole world is watching our meeting' and asked whether China and the United States could 'meet global challenges together and provide more stability for the world.' Trump responded in familiar fashion,lavishing praise on his hostand telling Xi, 'You're a great leader, I say it to everybody, you're a great leader.'
He did not sound like that afterwards.
🇺🇸🇨🇳⚡ President Donald Trump described talks with Xi Jinping as "great", after a nearly two-hour long high-stakes meeting in Beijingpic.twitter.com/BG1YrWFLCB
According toThe Daily Beast,the first round of talks lasted roughly two hours and 15 minutes. When Trump later appeared with Xi outside Beijing's Temple of Heaven, he was asked how the meeting had gone. His answer was startlingly short by his own standards. 'It's great, a great place. Incredible. China is beautiful.'
That was it. No riffing. No improvised verdict on trade or diplomacy. No attempt to dominate the moment with one of the sprawling, combative answers that usually follow him around. Xi stayed silent, Trump said nothing more, and the two men moved inside as one reporter tried to ask a final question about Taiwan.
Trump and Xi's meeting erupts into chaos as hot mic catches fight break outhttps://t.co/pOLphOrrTVpic.twitter.com/n1j9eMLpX4
That odd little exchange is what gives the episode its charge. Trump is not generally a politician who retreats into understatement when the cameras are on. If anything, his instinct is usually the reverse. So when he suddenly has almost nothing to say, people notice.
CNN White House reporter Betsy Klein did exactly that, describing the president as 'uncharacteristically restrained' during the photo opportunity. She said Trump would usually have plenty to say on a subject like this and suggested his silence may have reflected the fact that he understood he was Xi's guest, or simply did not want to speak about Taiwan in public.
Source: International Business Times UK
