Analysis: Summit Felt Like 'Shallow Bonhomie'

President Trump's high-gloss welcome for Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday struck Andy Browne of Semafor in a way Trump surely didn't intend: It "underscored how rapidly the balance of power in the relationship has shifted," he writes. And by that, he means in China's favor. The meeting comes in the aftermath of China threatening to deprive the US of vital rare earths amid their trade war. It was the "ultimate power move," writes Browne, and the US backed down. In that context, the lavish welcome provided by Trump makes it appear as if China has "basically tamed the US," Georgetown professor Rush Doshi tells Browne.

The summit's tangible outcomes are thin: a two-month extension of a fragile trade truce, talk of an AI "hotline," and panda diplomacy for the Atlanta zoo. Meanwhile, China continues to aid Russia's war effort and supply Iran with components for drones and missiles. Browne argues that traditional US-China summits once paired protocol with pressure and hard asks. This one leaned heavily on ceremony and was light on substance. It was, in Browne's view, "an exercise in shallow bonhomie," raising the question of why Trump spent so much diplomatic prestige for so little. The US president is promising that "tremendous things" will result, but "that's a diplomatic hope, not a deliverable." Read the full piece.