Beyond the flattery and pomp, the Trump-Xi summit underscores the narrative that China has risen to peer status with the United States, with Xi Jinping ever more confident that his long-game strategy is paying off, while U.S. leverage is shrinking.
Clayton Collins
News outlets parsed this week鈥檚 summit between President Donald Trump and China鈥檚 Xi Jinping for its choreography as much as its content: Who was and wasn鈥檛 on the greeting committee; the (literal) stances of the two leaders; even the first handshake鈥檚 approach angles. Ann Scott Tyson reports today from Beijing on this week鈥檚 consequential contribution to U.S.-China discourse. Behind the body language and between the lines: a bilateral reach for global leverage 鈥 and a changing power dynamic.
Scroll deeper for our reviewers鈥 best books of May, including one that brings 鈥渁 blast of fresh polar air,鈥 and our essayist鈥檚 remembrance of how his seventh grade self answered the call of poetry.