The Stalemate Summit: Xi-Trump in the Long Sweep of US-China Relations

The Stalemate Summit: Xi-Trump in the Long Sweep of US-China Relations

Published: May 12, 2026

Duration: 1:19:51

Julian Gewirtz, former Biden administration China official, now at Columbia, joins me to chat about the Xi-Trump visit and all things US-China. Matt Sheehan, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, drops by to give his takes on the AI angle.
We cover:

What to expect (and not expect) from the Trump-Xi “stalemate summit” Historical echoes from the 1793 Macartney mission and the 1972 Nixon-Kissinger opening — summit optics, status games, and the choreography of power. Taiwan — arms sales, declaratory language, and Beijing's long game on Taiwanese morale and politics. The good and bad case for China in the I...