Trump Prepares Warm Welcome for Xi Jinping Ahead of Washington Summit
US President Donald Trump is preparing to give Chinese leader Xi Jinping a red-carpet welcome ahead of Thursday's summit in Washington, as experts debate whether Beijing's confidence about its future global role is overconfident. The topic was discussed on France 24's programme "A propos".
US President Donald Trump is rolling out the red carpet for his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping ahead of a summit scheduled for Thursday in Washington. The meeting comes as Beijing increasingly projects confidence that the future of global power and economics belongs to China.
France 24's programme "A propos", hosted by Yinka Oyetade, addressed the topic with Rex Li, an expert from King's College London. The discussion centred on whether Chinese leadership is overconfident in its assessment of the country's future global standing, especially in light of the upcoming high-level meeting with the US president.
Summit context
The Trump-Xi summit takes place against a backdrop of years marked by trade tensions and geopolitical friction between the two powers. Trump's decision to extend a particularly warm welcome to the Chinese leader is seen in the programme as a signal of both sides' interest in improving dialogue.
In the interview, Rex Li examined whether China's growing self-assurance about its role on the world stage matches the actual balance of power, or whether it overstates Beijing's position. The source material did not detail the programme's specific conclusions, but the discussion reflects broader interest in how the balance of power between the US and China is shifting.
The episode was published on 24 September 2026, ahead of the planned Thursday summit.
