Jinping will meet with US President Donald
Trump in Florida on
Thursday. It is arguably the most highly anticipated meeting
in global economics.
The two men, as leaders of the first and second largest economies in the world, literally have the fate of the entire global economy in their hands.
And they couldn't be any more different.
From his first moments on the campaign trail, Trump has bellicosely accused China of being a currency manipulator (not true) and said that trade between the US and China has been unfairly tilted in China's favor.
Then, before his inauguration Trump made a massive misstep of speaking with the President of Taiwan, tacitly recognizing it as a sovereign nation and violating the one-China policy the US has held since the 1970s.
Xi Jinping, on the other hand, is a man of few words or expressions. While Chinese state media has not held back its dislike of Trump's China bullying, Xi himself has said little of Trump's administration. After Trump called Taiwan, China's foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang did grant a rare, long interview with NBC in which he said in no uncertain terms that the one-China policy was not to be messed with.
"Because this issue touches upon China's core interest by no means is this something that could be negotiated or used as a bargaining chip," Lu said. "One China policy 100%."
With Trump, though, very little is predictable. Consider his tenor toward Angela Merkel, the leader of one of the US's most important allies and a key trading partner. After basically accusing her of hiding behind the European Union to exploit trade agreements with the U.S., he then reportedly handed her a bill for NATO expenses. The White House has denied that last part, but the rest all happened in front of cameras.
Read more: Trump meeting with China President Xi Jinping - Business Insider
The two men, as leaders of the first and second largest economies in the world, literally have the fate of the entire global economy in their hands.
And they couldn't be any more different.
From his first moments on the campaign trail, Trump has bellicosely accused China of being a currency manipulator (not true) and said that trade between the US and China has been unfairly tilted in China's favor.
Then, before his inauguration Trump made a massive misstep of speaking with the President of Taiwan, tacitly recognizing it as a sovereign nation and violating the one-China policy the US has held since the 1970s.
Xi Jinping, on the other hand, is a man of few words or expressions. While Chinese state media has not held back its dislike of Trump's China bullying, Xi himself has said little of Trump's administration. After Trump called Taiwan, China's foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang did grant a rare, long interview with NBC in which he said in no uncertain terms that the one-China policy was not to be messed with.
"Because this issue touches upon China's core interest by no means is this something that could be negotiated or used as a bargaining chip," Lu said. "One China policy 100%."
With Trump, though, very little is predictable. Consider his tenor toward Angela Merkel, the leader of one of the US's most important allies and a key trading partner. After basically accusing her of hiding behind the European Union to exploit trade agreements with the U.S., he then reportedly handed her a bill for NATO expenses. The White House has denied that last part, but the rest all happened in front of cameras.
Read more: Trump meeting with China President Xi Jinping - Business Insider
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