Trump's lavish hospitality towards Xi Jinping, what's his aim?

President Trump went directly to Andrews Air Force Base to greet President Xi Jinping. This was an exceptional move, considering his usual practice of rarely personally greeting foreign leaders at the airport, making it only the second instance after Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, he had also greeted him at the airport during a previous visit to Anchorage. President Trump waited for President Xi for over an hour. Given his usual tendency to be late or neglect guests, his direct reception of President Xi at the airport was considered highly unusual. Unlike in the past, when he often arrived late for appointments or treated guests poorly, waiting for over an hour to greet President Xi was considered a very unusual move.

This contrasts with President Trump's past actions of rarely greeting visiting foreign leaders at the airport, and it is seen as the second exceptional case after Russian President Vladimir Putin.

President Trump gave President Xi Jinping an elaborate reception, including a red carpet salute and deploying two bombers for a welcoming flight.

At the White House event, not only B-2 bombers but also F-22 fighter jets were mobilized, leading to criticism from both the Democratic Party and the MAGA faction in the U.S. regarding this excessive hospitality.

However, in this Washington summit, there were no threats against China before the meeting, and a conciliatory outcome was achieved, including extending the U.S.-China truce period by two months after the talks.

China controls 60% of global rare earth mining, 91% of refining, and 94% of permanent magnet production, wielding immense influence.

Indeed, China's control over rare earths has led to instances where U.S. automotive production lines were halted, preventing President Trump from issuing any threats to China right before the summit.

Concerns have been raised that the depletion of U.S. ammunition and interceptors after the Iranian attack will weaken military deterrence.

According to research by the Heritage Foundation, if a war were to break out between the U.S. and China, the U.S.'s current interceptor inventory would only be 10% of the required amount.

Given the supply chain issues the U.S. abandoned over the past 30 years, it is realistically difficult to catch up with China's production capacity within 2-3 years. With interceptor inventories sharply depleted by three wars, the shortage of rare earths and magnets, critical for missile production, is a major impediment.

The smooth supply of rare earths and magnets, essential for producing interceptor missiles, is hampered, causing production delays, and it is realistically impossible for the U.S., which abandoned its supply chains for 30 years, to catch up with China's production within 2-3 years.

President Trump's weaponization of tariffs was invalidated by the Supreme Court on February 20, weakening the means of imposing tariffs.

Imposing additional tariffs on China raises significant concerns about inflation in the U.S., and financial pressure is mounting, with U.S. national debt surpassing $40 trillion and 10-year Treasury yields exceeding 5.1%, thus shrinking the means of pressure.

This means the tariff attack truce and rare earth control pressure are also extended for the same period, and it is interpreted as a strategic choice for both countries to buy necessary time amidst confrontation.

The large-scale purchase of soybeans and the introduction of 200 Boeing aircraft by China, as reported by some media, were 'recycled' agreements already promised in previous summits and not the substantive content of this meeting.

The most important agenda item was rare earths, but rare earths remain under China's permit and review control, and China is strategically employing export delay tactics, with its exports of rare earth magnets to the U.S. in August decreasing by 21% year-on-year.

President Trump praised President Xi Jinping ceremoniously, speaking of 'a truly great friendship,' but this was merely diplomatic rhetoric without substantive concessions.

President Xi Jinping defined the relationship between the U.S. and China as 'a race running together,' emphasizing the image of equal great powers to gain external prestige.

During the summit, President Xi Jinping strongly demanded opposition to Taiwan's independence, but President Trump avoided a clear answer, consistently responding with a non-committal 'excellent meeting.'

After the Beijing summit in May 2020, as the Trump administration's stance towards China softened, the sale of $14 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan was continuously delayed.

The Secretary of the Navy stated that weapon sales to Taiwan were not possible due to ammunition acquisition, and President Trump mentioned using Taiwan's national security as a bargaining chip with China, dismissing the 1982 promise of Taiwan's security guarantees as a matter 'long ago.'

An escalation of the trade war could lead to rising inflation and surging Treasury yields in the U.S., creating an unfavorable situation for the Trump administration ahead of the elections.

The two-month U.S.-China truce period is analyzed as a means to buy time to assess midterm election results and re-evaluate rare earth acquisition strategies.

The U.S. has secured legal means through the Russia and Iran Sanctions Act signed in September, allowing it to impose tariffs of up to 100% on Chinese products from countries that fund or purchase oil from Russia or Iran.

Additionally, it possesses various sanction tools against China, such as identifying six Chinese AI companies to curb their technological pursuit, and there is always a possibility of shifting to a hardline policy after the truce expires on January 10 next year.

Trump's airport reception and lavish hospitality are analyzed to contribute to China's image as an equal great power to the U.S., creating a much more favorable environment for China to target African and Latin American markets in the future.

President Xi Jinping can now use these diplomatic achievements as an equal to serve domestic political purposes, such as pursuing a fourth term.

In 2017, when President Trump exerted all sorts of pressure on China, President Xi Jinping responded with lavish hospitality.

Despite Xi Jinping's hospitality at the time, four months later, the U.S. Section 301 report was released, large-scale purchase promises were not fulfilled, and eight months later, tariff attacks began. Thus, there is a possibility of similar conflicts recurring after this hospitality.