BEIJING — U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the United States after a three-day state visit to China, the most significant trip of his second term, with both sides framing the talks as a reset of relations even as concrete agreements remained scarce.
In a report published on Friday, the international news agency Al Jazeera examined what Trump took home from the trip. The report said Trump had wanted China, the largest buyer of Iranian oil and gas, to use its influence over Tehran. He believed Beijing could pressure Iran back to the negotiating table and might even be drawn into operations to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
In a television interview on the eve of his return, Trump said he believed Chinese President Xi Jinping also wanted a quick end to the war. China’s Foreign Ministry, however, sharply criticized the United States, saying the war should never have begun and that the way forward lay through negotiation rather than further conflict.
Trump said he hoped Beijing would play a role in some form of settlement talks with Iran. As with trade issues, however, there is no written agreement so far showing that China is stepping directly into a mediator’s role.
China afforded Trump exceptional honors during the visit. He ended the trip at the Zhongnanhai compound, the seat of Chinese power. The highly secretive complex, one of the most tightly guarded installations in the world, is the residence of Xi Jinping and the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party.
Few people outside the Communist Party leadership have been allowed inside. Russian President Vladimir Putin and the king of the Netherlands are among those who have.
Making Trump feel honored and important was part of a wider Chinese strategy aimed at shaping the atmosphere for future relations, observers said. Chinese state-affiliated social media accounts presented the visit in a positive light but offered few details, which analysts said was in keeping with Beijing’s usual diplomatic style. Xi rarely discloses much publicly.
From Beijing’s perspective, the goal of the visit was to rebuild ties. China sought to ease recent tensions and hostility and to lay down a new framework for the next three years.
The two countries also discussed setting up a board of trade to oversee bilateral commerce, though no formal announcement has been made, the report said. Even so, Trump believes he achieved many of his objectives. He pressed for further aircraft sales to China and said Boeing was set to win a deal to supply 200 planes.
The United States also hopes to export more agricultural products to China over the next three years, which could amount to several billion dollars in trade. Trump views these as major achievements.
Trump said there had also been progress in opening China’s markets further, which was why representatives of many large U.S. companies accompanied him on the trip. He considered the roughly 40-hour visit a success.
It will not be the last meeting between the two leaders. At least three more meetings are possible this year, including two on the sidelines of international summits and a potential state visit by Xi to Washington in September.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report