Same red carpet welcomes, different stakes: What Trump and Putin’s visits say about China

BEIJING: For a moment, it looked like deja vu. Just days after United States President Donald Trump’s visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin was greeted with much of the same pomp and ceremony – a 21-gun salute, rows of flag-waving children and chants of “warm welcome” outside the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday (May 20). But analysts say the similarities ended there: Trump’s trip was about managing tensions in the world’s most consequential rivalry while Putin’s visit, by contrast, was about reaffirming one of China’s most important strategic partnerships. And unlike Trump’s visit, Putin’s…