Washington/Beijing— Halfway through his visit to China on Thursday morning, US President Donald Trump watched ramrod-straight soldiers swinging their rifles in precision, a ceremony that he tweeted was a "truly memorable and impressive display". In fact, the military ceremony he observed — walking a red carpet alongside Tiananmen Square, children waving tiny flags — was the same display China arranges for state visits by European powerhouses and tiny Central American nations alike. China did everything it could to make Trump feel special, except the two things he actually wanted — offering help to choke the North Korean economy and addressing a yawning trade deficit. The president leaves with no concrete concessions from China on how to confront these two issues. Even Trump’s secretary of state Rex Tillerson acknowledged that China’s steps on the trade deficit are "pretty small" compared to the $367bn imbalance between the countries. Trump had come to China eager to exploit chemistr...
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