# Trump's China charm offensive

> Trump has shifted from tough talk on China to cozy diplomacy with Xi Jinping, even overlooking security concerns.
- Title: Trump's China charm offensive · Fortune | Shortify
- Summary: Trump has shifted from tough talk on China to cozy diplomacy with Xi Jinping, even overlooking security concerns. Trump's focus on personal relationships…
- Keywords: donald trump, xi jinping, china, united states, trade relations, tariffs, iran, state visit, ai competition, rare earths, manufacturing, electric vehicles
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/09/20/trump-xi-jinping-summit-iran-war-tariffs-trade-deficit
- Author: Josh Boak
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: donald trump, xi jinping, china, united states, trade relations, tariffs, iran, state visit, ai competition, rare earths, manufacturing, electric vehicles
## Trump's China flip-flop
Trump once called China a menace that gutted American factories. Now he calls Xi Jinping a great gentleman and says they have a very good relationship.

> He's a great gentleman; we get along great.
## Giving Xi a pass on Iran
Trump shrugged off reports that China provided Iran with satellite imagery, saying Xi has behaved reasonably well. He also downplayed concerns about China accessing U.S. voter files.

> I think he's behaved reasonably well.
## Tariffs didn't work
Trump tried confronting China with tariffs last year, but it backfired. China used its monopoly on rare earths to force a trade armistice, leaving Trump to resort to hospitality instead.
## Xi won the leverage contest
Trump and Xi competed for leverage, but Xi came out on top. Trump has now dramatically shifted his approach, abandoning tariffs and export restrictions that proved unsuccessful.

> Xi and Trump got into a contest of leverage, and Xi came out on top.
## Weakening Western alliances
Trump has mocked Macron, run hot and cold on NATO, and launched a trade fight with Canada. This undermines the economic and security alliances that could pressure China.
## China's wedge tactics working
Trump is executing China's strategy for it, helping Xi present China as stable and responsible. Western leaders are now visiting Beijing to stabilize relations with China instead of coordinating against it.

> He's executing Xi's wedge tactics for him.
## China's trade dominance grows
Despite Trump's tariffs, China's manufacturing sector thrives. It posted a 1.2 trillion dollar global trade surplus last year and is undercutting auto sectors in Germany, Japan, and South Korea with cheap electric vehicles.
## AI is the real battleground
Trump says AI will be the greatest economic engine ever, bigger than oil or the internet. But China's AI companies are accused of training on U.S. models, and the Trump administration is hesitant to call out China on the issue.
## No clear deliverables expected
State visits usually produce policy wins. But Thursday's summit may deliver nothing concrete, with the relationship itself being the main outcome rather than measurable goals.
## Missing the moment to compete
Experts warn that Trump's idiosyncratic approach prioritizes optics over strategy at precisely the time the U.S. needs to amp up competition across all dimensions against China.

> We really need to be amping up all dimensions of our competition.
## Key takeaway

Trump's focus on personal relationships with Xi over strategic competition may leave the U.S. unprepared for long-term economic and technological rivalry.