China Celebrates Trump and Xi’s Mutual ‘Vision’ on Bilateral Ties

Chinese state media reporting on Thursday’s meeting between President Donald Trump and dictator Xi Jinping was generally upbeat, with the state-run Global Times celebrating the leaders’ visit to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing as a “new historic footnote to China-U.S. relations.”

The Global Times was impressed by the “rapid pace” of Trump’s visit, and pleased that Trump’s busy agenda included time for a visit to the Temple of Heaven. Xi explained the “deep symbolic weight” of the site to his guest, saying it embodied “the traditional Chinese concept that the people are the foundation of a state.”

The Temple of Heaven also looms large in Chinese diplomacy because former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was a frequent visitor and he is very highly regarded in Beijing. Most Chinese reports on Trump and Xi’s stroll through the grounds found room to mention that Kissinger has been there