From beef ribs to ‘heavenly’ walk: Xi-Trump summit symbolism underscored American power, Chinese tradition
Published on: May 20, 2026, 11:29 a.m. | Source: Devdiscourse
It was a travelling display of American political and corporate power.Not that the hosting Chinese were short of symbolic gestures themselves.Trumps first China visit in 2017 had already shown how far Beijing was willing to go to turn diplomacy into theatre.On that occasion, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan personally accompanied Donald and Melania Trump through the Forbidden City, Beijings former imperial palace, drinking tea inside the palace walls and taking in a Peking opera at the Belvedere of Pleasant Sounds, a Qing imperial theatre built for court entertainment.So what was being conveyed this time around
