The Economist.
Welcome ceremony on Tiananmen Square complete with goose-stepping soldiers and cheering children,
a private tour of a 600-year-old temple
and talks over lunch, tea and a stroll in the gardens of the Zhongnanhai leadership compound.
Incredible.
China is beautiful.
President Trump had said he wanted China to outdo his last visit to Beijing back in 2017.
As talks commenced, Mr. Trump seemed pleased with the welcome.
It's an honor to be your friend,
and the relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.
But as America's president left Beijing less than two days later,
neither side seemed able to agree on what exactly was agreed.
Though both sides committed to stabilizing relations,
divergent accounts of the details suggest little concrete progress was made to extend a trade truce
or to resolve deep differences on Taiwan, Iran, and artificial intelligence.
And the two leaders' contrasting rhetoric underlined the conflicting visions of the relationship's future.
I'm Jeremy Page, The Economist's China correspondent.
And today I'm joined by John Prideaux, The Economist's US editor
and co-host of our US podcast, Checks and Balance,
and where is the relationship heading now?