Michael Schuman, Columnist

Trump and Xi Could Break the System

The two leaders have one thing in common: a disdain for rules.

April 5, 2017 at 9:00 PM UTC

Michael Schuman is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub and the author of "Superpower Interrupted: The Chinese History of the World" and "The Miracle: The Epic Story of Asia's Quest for Wealth."

A law unto himself.
Photographer: JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images

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The world’s two most powerful leaders appear to come from different planets. Real estate billionaire Donald Trump craves media attention, loves golf and governs through Twitter. Communist Party boss Xi Jinping evades the public, shutters golf courses and bans Twitter. Sure, when they meet for their first summit at Trump’s Florida club on Thursday, the two men may discover some mutual interests -- say, a shared contempt for the New York Times. But they seem unlikely to hit it off.

Trump and Xi do have one critical attribute in common, though -- one that doesn’t bode well either for U.S.-China relations or the future of the global economy. Neither man likes playing by the rules.