Trump Faces Criticism From His Own Party On China Visit | Richard Spencer

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]I saw a a Republican veteran public senator sort of denouncing President Trump yesterday for making this visit at all really saying that he was selling the shop to China. President Trump and President Xi have held their final round of talks in Beijing. In fact, as we speak President Trump is about to board Air Force One.

[00:00:21]He is well, there's some sort of festivities happening around him. He's being sort of cheered onto the plane by I don't know are there musicians there? There's certainly some sort of ceremonial dance happening is how I would describe it.

[00:00:33]>> He's getting a good send off.

[00:00:34]>> send off. President Trump will be beside himself with the pageantry as we like to see. Anyway, it's been the final round of talks in Beijing have now concluded. He's had a two-day trip to meet the president of China. The war in Iran of course has been a focal point of the visit as well. There've been no major announcements on trade but President Trump has suggested that Beijing could buy US oil and withdraw military equipment from Tehran. Richard Spencer, the Times China correspondent has been following developments.

[00:01:01]Morning, Richard. Good morning.

[00:01:02]>> What what can we say is is confirmed as a result of this trip?

[00:01:07]Nothing really.

[00:01:09]The honest truth was I didn't really expect much to be confirmed.

[00:01:13]You there was so much positive mood music around this summit. You always have to think that the nicer things as they're said about each other the the less they're actually going to um bring up difficult topics and actually try and beat each other down on them. So I think that's pretty much what's happened.

[00:01:30]There's been a lot for show, lots of dancing school children with Chinese and American flags and so on but not much really of substance but a lot of um a lot of posture in this kind of subtle way to sort of reestablish what the relationship is between the two countries because over the last 10 years it's taken that relationship has shifted around quite a lot in terms of rhetoric and you know, often quite hostile rhetoric and they seem to want to put that behind them. Yeah, which I suppose in itself has has a has a reasonable level of significance. Is that fair to say even if there isn't a sort of firm commitment on military equipment or on trade or whatever. The fact this thing has happened and it has seemed to be quite convivial. Is that progress in itself?

[00:02:23]Well, it depends whether you want Yes, the relations with China if you're on the American side because of course a lot of American politicians are actually quite unhappy about it. I saw a Republican veteran public senator sort of denouncing President Trump yesterday for making this visit at all really saying that he was selling the shop to China.

[00:02:47]The the thing that's really struck me and I think other people is Mr. Trump's tone on this visit which has you know, there's none of the bluster when he meets other world leaders, none of the sort of attempts to bully President Xi to do his bidding.

[00:03:05]People have been talking about whether China is on its way to becoming a equal superpower to America and Mr. Trump was behaving pretty much as if he thought it already was which if you heard Trump's rhetoric certainly in his first term of office which was very sort of sneery towards China lots of mocking of China if you remember about its trade policies and then about coronavirus. That's that's a very considerable change of tone which I can hardly not have consequences for the way you know, we all relate to the world superpowers. President Xi referred to Taiwan as the most important issue in China-US relations and it could create a highly dangerous situation if mishandled. One of the things with Taiwan Richard that that from from my distance I kind of struggled to to perceive is how much of the conversation around Taiwan is rhetoric and how much of it has actual credible substance to it. What what would you say in the context of the summit?

[00:04:07]There's a definite subtext if you like in in reality.

[00:04:13]Um If you and it and it is a sort of you you know unstoppable force meets immovable rock type of situation because you know there's there's all this talk of you know America China wanting to sort of you know attack Taiwan and invade it possibly next year. There's been that year has been given 2035 is another date.

[00:04:38]That isn't we think anyway always hard to be sure but that isn't really President Xi's plan. His plan is is is a much slower process of sort of encircling Taiwan both strategically and militarily until and indeed economically eventually until sort of Taiwan just gives up and and effectively becomes at least like Hong Kong you know you know subservient to Beijing if not directly ruled by it. Um And Mr. Xi's message is you know don't interfere with that by taking aggressive postures. Now America's position is not to take an aggressive posture not to say we want Taiwan to become independent not to you know go and station lots of American troops on the island. So in a way Mr. Xi's warning isn't particularly aggressive. He's not saying what people have been saying that he wanted Trump to make a firm commitment to oppose Taiwanese Taiwan Taiwan declaration of independence or anything.

[00:05:45]So you could say well it's it's not particularly hawkish in that it doesn't actively demand Trump do anything. He He wants He would like Trump to uh reduce arms sales to Taiwan, but there was no specific threat on on that. Uh but it is saying, "Look, you know, this is our long-term strategy towards Taiwan, and we expect America not to try and interfere with it in any way." Yeah.

[00:06:09]Uh Richard, thank you very much.

[00:06:11]Appreciate your analysis. That is Richard Spencer, The Times China correspondent.