U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping finally met Thursday in a highly-anticipated summit with observers saying despite intense speculation prior the encounter, both sides will make it work for their domestic audiences.
"These types of summit are about pageantry. The Chinese are looking to get the right photo ops to show that President Xi is an equal to Donald Trump and that China is a superpower. At the same time, Donald Trump is looking to have a successful summit," said Harry Kazianis, defense studies director at the Center for National Interest.
Where there is speculation that the Chinese may limit photo opportunities for fear that the impulsive Trump may embarrass Xi, there`s little to worry about as both leaders would want to score points with their constituents with the U.S. president battling troubles with overhauling Obamacare and his Supreme Court nominee, while China prepares for a leadership reshuffle in the fall.
"For both sides, they are going to want a successful summit and that is what we`re going to see," Kazianis added.
The meeting got off to a cordial start on Thursday at Trump`s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida with a state dinner. Before the meal, Trump met with his national security team where he ordered an attack on a Syria-government airfield with 59 tomahawk missiles, the CNN reported citing an unnamed administration official.
Trump and Xi are expected to discuss finer points of trade and foreign policy on Friday, finishing the event with a working lunch—but don`t expect a major breakthrough over just two days, said Kazianis.
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