Trump Wanted a Victory. Xi Came With a Warning. | Silk and Steel

Rachel Blevins (0:00)

It is September 24th, 2026, and it's just before 7 p.m. local time here in Texas. And Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Washington, DC. He's meeting with President Trump, right? We all saw his official arrival. We saw Trump greeting him by the plane. He was ready to welcome the Chinese president. But when it comes down to the talks that they're having, right, what was said in the Oval Office, there are a range of different topics right now that the US is desperately bringing up with China. Well, at the same time, trying to keep in mind the demands coming from Beijing when it comes to the US and its arming of Taiwan, when it comes to ongoing war against Iran, which notably is also aimed at trying to hurt China and its energy supply and so on and so forth, just beginning to get into trade and tariffs.

And rare earth minerals. There are so many different places in which China has the leverage. But we see the Chinese president over here kind of carefully dealing with Donald Trump, giving him the photo op that he wants, while at the same time delivering a very stern warning about the fact that Beijing is not going to give in to Washington's demands. So what does that mean for this summit? And what should we be keeping an eye on? Well, we got into all of that and more with a special guest earlier. So let's take a listen to that conversation now. Joining me now to discuss is Carl Zha, a geopolitical analyst and host of the Silk and Steel podcast. Carl, thanks so much for taking the time to join me.

Carl Zha (1:41)

Thank you, Rachel. Thank you for inviting me.

Rachel Blevins (1:44)

It's always great to have you on the show. And I'm glad I get a chance to get your take on the latest, because of course, Chinese president Xi Jinping and his wife are in Washington, DC this week for an in-person summit with President Trump. And their arrival went a bit viral on social media, as Xi became the first foreign leader that Trump greeted on the tarmac as soon as he stepped off the plane. Now, notably, Trump did not get that kind of greeting from Xi when he visited China back in May of this year. But in addition to boasting on social media about how great this reunion was, Trump has also been called out for his reaction when B-2 Spirit bombers and four F-22 Raptors flew over the meeting and he looked a bit rattled while Xi didn't even flinch. How do you see the significance of this summit and the power structure here, as Trump seems to be really playing it up for this visit?

Carl Zha (2:41)

Right, Trump needed this visit because Trump's administration right now is besetted by Epstein files, the Iran war, and his upcoming November election, which prospect didn't look good. That's why Trump is promising crazy stuff, like handing out $5,000 to people who vote for his party. He needed this to show he is a world leader to be taken seriously. Look, all these world leaders, Putin, Xi Jinping, they're all here to come to see me. He actually did roll out red carpet for Putin back in the meeting Anchorage. But this time, he's rolling out the red carpet for Xi Jinping in Washington and meet him personally at the airport. Now, normal diplomatic protocol is the leaders will meet when they are not at the airport. This is a protocol that China follow. But Trump went up and beyond for both Putin and Xi Jinping, because he wanted to show, hey, we're buddies, we're good. And with me in charge, I'm going to make everything okay.

This was his moment for oral farming, for Trump. Because being the reality TV show host he is, he's all about making spectacle. And this is why he arranged for the B-2 bomber and F-22 during the flyby, maybe to intimidate or impress Xi Jinping. But then he himself couldn't hold it together and wimps in front of the camera when everybody was watching. So, you know, as the young and say, he got mugged on camera.

Zero for Trump.

Rachel Blevins (4:31)

Watching this take place, I'm like, oh, that backfired a little bit. I get why he was so quick to get on true social and go, everything's great. Everyone looks great.

Carl Zha (4:40)

Blah, blah, blah.

Rachel Blevins (4:40)

It's like, please don't watch that video that we're all going to watch again and again. And, you know, when it comes to the issues that they're talking about, it kind of seems like the same old same old at this point. I know that they've got AI regulation thrown in there as a big topic, but other than that, you've got Taiwan, you've got trade, you've got rare earth minerals. You, of course, have all the wars that Trump has started. So I feel like every time he has a new meeting, it's like, oh yeah, you've got this other war. And so now he has the catastrophe for the US and Iran. But when it comes to Taiwan specifically, because of course Trump and Xi had this Oval Office meeting, well, the Chinese president has said to have stressed Beijing's position on Taiwan, urging Trump to carefully consider the United States position and oppose Taiwan independence. Nothing really new there, but what I did think was notable was that you have Secretary of State Marco Rubio kind of admitting that the US isn't sending weapons to Taiwan right now because they don't have weapons and ammunition to send. So how do you see the importance still for China when it comes to emphasizing their red line on Taiwan and making sure it stays in the conversation?