Trump is the first US president invited to visit the Temple of Heaven in China; too bad Putin has already done so. This news alone might be enough to summarize the significance of the orange president's trip. ---- We could also add that the leaders of major American tech companies (from Tesla to Amazon, Apple, and more) swindled their friend for a day trip, without even needing to bring a tablecloth for the equipment on the lawn.
On a slightly more serious note, a Fox News reporter had the opportunity to report on the stifling presence of cameras in China, because unfortunately he was almost instantly ticketed for parking in an illegal spot. Taking things a step further, we learn that Marco Rubio, sanctioned by the Chinese in 2021 (when he was a mere senator) for strongly anti-China statements, was admitted to the banquet thanks to a trick only the Chinese could have invented: this time, they used different ideograms to refer to Marco Rubio so they could accept him without lifting a sanction that included a ban on entering China. Talk about flexibility!Many commentators are calling the visit a failure. It couldn't have been otherwise, because a visit at that level requires specific technical meetings to prepare it, but Trump seems to be allergic or incapable of real negotiations. The scenario of last year's meeting in Alaska with Putin, which led nowhere, has been repeated. Trump lives in a world where only public relations counts, and it's enough (for him) to maintain attention and distract the markets to engage in a bit of insider trading.
The result is the absolute unreliability of the US leadership; the others know it and let him speak, given that he's a very powerful and violent village idiot. A delegation with the world's richest men in the high-tech sector could have hinted at agreements on chip sales, but nothing substantial was agreed upon: just a few authorizations for Nvidia, in a sector where the Chinese are the first to want to limit imports to develop the local industry. Even the alleged sale of Boeing airplanes was reduced from the expected 500 to 200, adding that this number appears only in the US report, while there's nothing about it in the Chinese one. The sale of a few airplanes cannot be ruled out, but only to keep the orange bully calm. There is no trace of significant agreements on the purchase of American soybeans, so hoped for by American farmers who are about to be hit by the rising cost of fertilizer. There's not even a trace of agreements on rare earths: it's better for the US not to touch a sensitive issue that could upset the Chinese, who have cards to sell: last year, after Trump's mega tariffs, China severely limited the sale of rare earths, leading to the debacle in South Korea, when Trump and Bessent were forced to lower the tariffs (read: pants).
Yes, the Americans are certainly raising their voices, announcing sanctions on some Chinese banks should they dare trade Iranian or Russian oil, but even before Trump's outing, the Chinese enacted a law prohibiting those same banks from complying with American requests, while also guaranteeing protection in the event of specific US actions.
Within the framework of US-China relations, there's another area of conflict that hasn't surfaced, perhaps because the US isn't directly involved, but only through a proxy: Panama. For the past 30 years, a Hong Kong-based Chinese company (KH Hutchinson), thanks to a contract signed with the Panamanian state, managed the two ports that coordinate container traffic on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the canal. Suddenly, in early 2026, the Panamanian Supreme Court ruled that the contract was unconstitutional (coincidentally, shortly after Trump's declaration on the need to reclaim the canal). Moral of the story: a couple of months later, the Chinese raised port fees for Panamanian ships docking at Chinese ports. It's worth noting that much of Panamanian revenue comes not only from
The canal, but rather ships lent to international freight traffic. A move like China's will lead many Panamanian ships to change flags. The story doesn't seem to end there: once the KH Hutchinson was forced to leave Panama, management of the two ports was entrusted to two of the main container shipping companies: the Danish company Maersk and the Swiss company MSC. The Chinese have announced retaliation, but it's unclear what form it would take, given that they risk harming themselves. We'll see.
In short, there have been no notable commercial results. Perhaps the picture is different on a strictly political level? It doesn't seem so: the Chinese have refused (very politely, as always) to pressure Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and/or accept the American peace plan. That the Chinese prefer an Iran without the nuclear bomb is self-evident, and repeating the point costs them nothing, just as it costs them nothing to express a preference for an open Strait of Hormuz. But from here to committing to solving a problem caused by the Americans is a long way off, and indeed there's no trace of this in the Chinese report.
However, there's one thing that matters more to the Chinese than anything else, and they made it very clear when they stated that peace and Taiwan's independence are like fire and water: they don't want American interference, otherwise there will be clashes and conflicts , as the English translation suggests. In short, a threat, which is quite unusual.
Now it's up to Trump to decide whether to exacerbate relations by selling the billions in weapons promised to Taiwan.
In essence, nothing has changed. Trump must decide whether to authorize a very costly and risky military action against Iran or venture into completely unfamiliar territory: that of negotiations. Even Kagan, the pope of the neocons (and husband of Victoria Nuland, the architect of the Ukraine operation), has clearly written that the Iran operation is undoubtedly a failure, but his neocon soul emerges and he states that to win it is necessary to undertake a very large and costly operation (both in terms of money and human lives): in other words, let's do it because we have to clear the boil anyway .
Will Trump follow his instructions?
Antonio Politi
https://www.ucadi.org/2026/05/23/trump-va-in-gita/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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