Rapport is key when Trump and Xi sit down
US will bring a lot of demands and high expectations to world’s most important relationship
Washington — US President Donald Trump got his chance on Thursday to confront the leader of the nation he blames for stealing millions of US jobs and helping North Korea’s march towards a nuclear missile. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Mar-a-Lago in Florida is the first real test of Trump’s campaign promises to win negotiations with the US’s chief economic and military rival. After defeats on his travel ban and Obamacare repeal, Trump wants to show progress in countering North Korea’s threat and opening Chinese markets to more US goods. "We have not been treated fairly on trade for many, many years," Trump reiterated on Thursday morning in a Fox News interview. "We have a big problem with North Korea." Asked if he would have leverage with his Chinese counterpart, Trump replied: "We’ll be in there pitching and I think we’re going to do very well." Yet the world’s most important international relationship could hinge above all on what kind of rapport Trump and Xi can build. "...
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