French daily Libération writes that Trump, "embroiled in a war against Iran that has sent energy prices soaring and rebuked by the Supreme Court over tariffs, begins the summit with weaker cards than it appears". The paper contrasts this with Xi Jinping, whose strengths include "the posture of a responsible power and control over rare earth metals" and who sits "at the center of the geopolitical chessboard".
Libération notes that China "looks like a solid partner to a large part of the world" and cultivates an image of a power that respects international law — a stance it attributes partly to "strategic calculation", given that more than half of China's oil imports transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Citing Beijing's foreign ministry declaration that China wants to bring "more stability and certainty" to international relations, the paper calls the phrasing an implicit dig at Trump, "who has made the United States one of the main sources of instability in the world".
German weekly Der Spiegel focuses on Taiwan, asking in an article headlined "Taiwan on the Menu" whether Xi will succeed in extracting concessions from Trump on the island. The magazine suggests Trump "probably doesn't think about Taiwan very often", consumed as he is by the war with Iran, leaving "little time for the Far East and the island state whose existence depends largely on U.S. support".
Xi, by contrast, "presumably thinks about Taiwan almost every day", Der Spiegel writes, describing reunification as "an almost quasi-religious goal" for the Chinese leader. "Taipei fears that Trump may feel charmed by the lavish Chinese reception and be nudged into reducing American support for Taiwan", the magazine notes.
Der Spiegel recalls that Trump has already signaled that some arms deliveries to Taiwan could be contingent on how talks with Xi unfold, and that he has reverted to earlier U.S. ambiguity about whether Washington would intervene militarily if China attacked the island — a departure from his predecessor Joe Biden's explicit assurances.
Public sentiment in Taiwan is also shifting. A January American Portrait Survey cited by Der Spiegel found that more than 60% of Taiwanese said they do not trust the United States.
The magazine describes Xi as pursuing a "dual-track strategy" on Taiwan — increasing military pressure through near-daily air force sorties near the island while simultaneously courting Taiwan's opposition and warning that resistance to Beijing is counterproductive.
Trump landed in Beijing on Wednesday for a three-day visit.
(jh)
Source: PAP