China’s messaging is as important as its policy

After the first day of meetings between U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s supreme leader, Xi Jinping, a supporter of the U.S. president was ecstatic, exulting on X that Xi had “stunned the room” with his declaration that the two countries “should be partners, not rivals.” In her reading, the call for partnership was a sign of the newfound respect the Chinese leadership has for the U.S. under Trump. It’s easy to make fun of the naivete behind that view, but it’s probably more widespread than you think. That gap between public understanding of what China is doing and why…