Does Donald Trump still like Xi Zinping?

It's difficult to know what's going on in Donald Trump's mind over China and Washington's relations with Beijing. On the face of it, relations are getting worse by the day, and China seems to be lapping it up. After the thunderous clapping that greeted President Xi Zinping's arrival at the National People's Congress this week, the Chinese leader looks more and more pleased with himself. Everything is going right for him. The coronavirus pandemic is no longer a big issue for him, as things have calmed down. He has even agreed for there to be an inquiry into how it started. Meanwhile he is stamping his vision of a Great China on the rest of the world. The new security law imposed on Hong Kong is a slap in the face not just for the people of the former British colony who fear for their freedom and human rights but also for Washington and London who can do absolutely nothing about it except to cry foul. Trump is talking about sanctions and Dominic Raab, the UK Foreign Seretary, has said that any Hong Kongers with British passports will be allowed to come and live here. But it's peripheral stuff. If there are riots in Hong Kong, under the new law, the Chinese military will be able to move in and restore order. After the mass protests in Hong Kong last year, it was inevitable that Beijing would bring in new tough laws. The Covid-19 pandemic provided the perfect opportunity for Beijing to make its move. And now one of China's top generals is saying that Taiwan will be smashed by force and taken over unless it agrees to reunify with mainland China. Again, if that happens, there will be very little the mighty US can do about it. Zinping won't do that, not yet, he is too crafty a leader to grab everything he wants all at the same time. He has said in the past that he wants Taiwan reunified to the mainland by 2050 and that he is prepared to do it by force if necessary. I seriously doubt he will wait that long. Whatever Trump does to punish China whether it's over trade or Hong Kong or Taiwan, President Zinping I have no doubt feels he will be able to deal with it and rise up even stronger in the eyes of the Chinese people. Presumably Trump's China advisers are telling him this. So what does Trump think now of his friend Xi Zinping? Does he still like him, does he stil think he is a great leader? There will come a point when Trump has to make a decision. Right now he's trying both options, keeping friendly with Zinping and being tough on sanctions and other diplomatic measures. It's difficult to see how both paths can be followed for ever. The key to this current confrontation is image. Zinping wants his own country and the rest of the world to treat him with the utmost respect. He needs a glowing image to pursue his ambition to convert China into a world military and economic superpower. That could be his weakness, and one that Trump might be able to exploit as the Chinese leader marches on with his all-powerful persona.