‘Pandas are cute but US needs rare earth magnets’: Trump-Xi meet so far leaves analysts wanting more
AI generated
PHILADELPHIA – Sharp strands of US-China tensions were buried neatly beneath the line of sight during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first state visit in more than a decade.
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strands → need → decade
The bonhomie between the presidents meeting for the second time in four months was one for the record books.
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bonhomie → meet → books
Or at least for the cameras that caught a few unguarded moments between them even as major US television networks refused to air any live broadcast of the trip.
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networks → catch → trip
President Donald Trump talked of their “truly great friendship” as he hosted Xi on Sept 24, the second day of the visit that began with a ceremonial welcome at the White House.
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that → talk → House
It featured less than two hours of talks behind closed doors and culminated in a glittering state dinner.
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It → feature → dinner
Xi responded to Trump’s effusiveness to an unusual degree, noting in his speech that the two leaders had “built personal rapport”.
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leaders → respond → rapport
The Chinese leader, who is rarely seen in public without a detached expression, was caught cracking up as Trump took him on a tour around the White House and showed him the photo of an autopen that has replaced former president Joe Biden’s portrait at the White House.
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that → see → House
It’s a mocking depiction of Trump’s contention that presidential aides, rather than Biden himself, were effectively making key decisions late in his term.
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aides → ’ → term
But US observers are mostly failing to see any humour in the lavish spectacle.
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observers → fail → spectacle
With a day to go before the visit draws to a close and no major announcements forthcoming to stabilise the fragile relationship between the two geopolitical rivals with the world’s two largest economies, the disappointment among US-based analysts was unequivocal.
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disappointment → go → analysts
“So far, all show and no substance,” Stephen Roach, a prominent analyst of the US-China economic relationship, told The Straits Times.
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Roach → tell → Times
“The two-month trade extension was disappointingly short,” said Roach, remarking on the renewal of the tariff-and-trade truce reached when the two leaders met in Busan, South Korea, in October 2025.
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leaders → say → October
Due to lapse on Nov 10, it is being extended to Jan 10, 2027, in what is the only concrete outcome of the trip so far.
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what → extend → trip
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the extension was meant to give negotiators time to pursue a broader economic agreement.
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extension → say → agreement
For the Chinese, the outcomes were not much better, said Roach, who spent roughly three decades at Morgan Stanley, including as the firm’s chief economist and later as Hong Kong-based chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia.
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who → say → Asia
“Marginally, (it’s) an opportunity to be more explicit on the Taiwan red line,” he said, referring to Xi’s ongoing visit.
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he → ’ → visit
Xi urged the US to “adhere to the correct position of opposing Taiwan independence” during the visit.
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Xi → urge → visit
There is no sign that Trump will depart from the longstanding US position that it “does not support Taiwan independence”.
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it → be → independence
The administration has, however, calmed Beijing’s fears by delaying an arms sales package to Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China sees as a breakaway province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
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China → calm → force
‘Diplotainment’ over real substance
Daniel Russel, who served as the assistant secretary of state in the Obama administration, called the summit “diplotainment”.
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who → serve → summit
“It was a disappointment,” he said.
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he → say → ?
“We can be glad that they showed they want to keep the relationship from going over a cliff.
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they → show → cliff
But the two presidents are making nice while the two countries remain locked in a bitter competition over trade, tech, Taiwan, defence, rare earths and industrial policy,” he said.
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he → make → trade
“What bothered me was the imbalance between spectacle and substance: theatrical pageantry, but only about 90 minutes of substantive talks.
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bothered → bother → talks
“I’ve been calling it “diplotainment,” he told ST.
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he → call → ST
“Pandas are cute, but what the US needs are rare earth magnets,” he said.
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he → need → what
Xi made some headlines with his announcement that two giant pandas, Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female, will arrive at Zoo Atlanta “in a few days”.
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pandas → make → days
The zoo has been without pandas since 2024, when China recalled four pandas as an earlier agreement ended.
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agreement → recall → pandas
“There is a danger in papering over the real problems,” said Russel, now a distinguished fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
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Russel → be → Institute
“Dialogue is useful; pretending the underlying conflicts have been resolved is not.”
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conflicts → pretend → ?
He listed where the gaps were, including doubts about whether China will walk the talk on buying US farm products or loosening its restrictions over the export of rare earths and critical minerals in demand by US manufacturing industries.
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China → list → industries
Likewise, there is scepticism that US-China dialogue on AI safety will be meaningful since both do not want to be constrained in developing their prowess.
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both → be → prowess
And there is no sign so far that China will reduce its purchases of Iranian oil or cease its alleged support of Iran’s war effort, the issues central to Trump’s attempt to end the war.
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China → be → war
“On trade, the real test is whether tariff cuts, agricultural purchases and Boeing orders actually happen,” said Russel.
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Russel → happen → trade
“On rare earths, it is whether shipments increase.
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shipments → increase → earths
On Taiwan, watch what happens to the delayed arms package.
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what → watch → package
On Iran, there is zero chance of Xi joining a US maximum-pressure campaign.
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Xi → be → campaign
“And on AI, the technology is racing ahead while the two governments are taking six months just to get their dialogue started,” he said.
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he → race → months
“Pageantry and protocol don’t add up to progress and summit announcements have not been a very good predictor of performance,” he noted.
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he → add → performance
‘Optics do matter’
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Optics → matter → ?
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
