Emboldened Xi Moves to Corner Trump With ‘New Relationship’ Talk

Before Donald Trump had even wrapped his two days of summitry and sightseeing in Beijing, Xi Jinping declared the visit a “historic” landmark in US-China ties despite the absence of any major deals or obvious breakthroughs.

During a day that saw the Chinese leader usher Trump into his Beijing residence for lunch and a tour of its walled gardens, Xi claimed a “new” era in bilateral relations had begun. The tongue-twister phrase Chinese officials unveiled to describe that chapter was “constructive strategic stability” — a vague slogan that was left unchallenged by Trump and much of his entourage.