By Sara Flounders
May 19, 2026

The grand visit of U.S. President Donald Trump with a powerhouse entourage of a dozen top CEOs and billionaires confirmed China’s President Xi Jinping’s welcome to the U.S. delegation. In a glaring and public way, Xi cautioned the U.S. delegation at the welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, saying that the U.S. is “a nation in decline.”

Trump returns with some sales in agricultural products and Boeing commercial jets to China, but the U.S. global position is unchanged. The final read-outs by both countries summarizing the meetings show the gulf between U.S. wishes and reality.

Trump claimed on facebook.com that he reached “fantastic trade deals” that “delivers for workers, farmers and industry” in the U.S. The White House summary claims the sale of beef, poultry and soybeans and 200 Boeing planes. China’s summary read-out warns: “all deals discussed are preliminary.” (Reuters, May 16)

The New York Times May 15 headline agreed: “Trump touts fantastic trade deals with China but details are scarce.” NBC, CBS and CNN coverage used headlines of “No big deals,” “No clear wins,” “stalemate,” “short of deliverables.”

Al Jazeera led with the headline: “How Xi-Trump summit failed to yield Iran war breakthrough. U.S. officials have nudged China to do more on the blocked Hormuz strait. President Xi doesn’t appear to have budged.” (May 15) In an interview with Al Mayadeen, Iranian commentator Professor Mohamad Mirandi labeled Trump’s visit to China a failure. “Trump failed to secure meaningful gains.” (May 16)

Trump’s biographer, Michael Wolff, author of five books on Trump and granted wide personal access, described the Beijing trip as “a win for the Chinese and an embarrassment for Trump” in a Daily Beast article titled “Why Desperate Trump Can’t Spin This Failure.” (May 16)

Carlos Martinez, however, considered it “A Successful visit to Beijing — Is The U.S. Ruling Class Starting To Face Reality?” On May 15 he noted that there is “a growing understanding in U.S. policy circles that a hawkish anti-China strategy simply is not working.” (socialistchina.org) 

Ben Norton’s headline was far harsher: “Trump’s failed China trip shows his trade war backfired, and U.S. corporations are desperate.” Norton wrote, “The scorched-earth campaign of economic war and tech war against China has backfired, and they hoped for some kind of grand bargain.”

Even before the trip, major U.S. think tanks like the Council on Foreign Relations warned with this harsh headline: “America Has Lost Its Leverage Over China.” The article noted that in recent weeks, Trump has both invited Chinese warships to the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to strike China-bound oil tankers passing through it. It read, “China has the upper hand.” (foreignaffairs.com, May 13)

A nation in decline 

In response to President Xi’s public caution, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “President Xi was not referring to the incredible rise that the United States has displayed to the world during the 16 spectacular months of the Trump administration, which includes all-time high stock markets and 401Ks, military victory and thriving relationship in Venezuela, the military decimation of Iran (to be continued!).”

Trump added in his post: “The United States is the hottest nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before! Two years ago” the nation was “in decline.”

The visit came as the criminal war the U.S. launched on Iran remained unresolved and with the U.S. having lost influence. Trump continuously declared that the U.S. attack would lead to Iran’s total surrender and collapse. It was a desperate military gamble that a devastating surprise attack could reverse what U.S. productive capacity could no longer accomplish.

Trump’s hope was that the war on Iran would give U.S. imperialism new leverage to halt China’s development, break the BRICS trade alliance, disrupt China’s Belt and Road development plans and give new leverage to U.S. sanctions. It was a complete underestimation of Iran’s determined resistance. Now U.S. bases in West Asia are in non-functional ruin. Iranian resistance and decades of military and technical planning have undermined U.S. domination of West Asia and the Persian Gulf.

Wanted China to pressure Iran

Trump wanted China’s help in forcing Iranian compliance to disarm. Grossly miscalculating, he went so far as to imply that China would work with the U.S. against Iran when he declared that he and President Xi “feel very similar” — that the Strait of Hormuz should be open, and that Iran should not have nuclear weapons.” (abc7.com, May 14)

The reality is that China, Iran and Russia have grown closer together in opposing U.S. military attacks and U.S. sanctions on each of their countries and a total of 40 sanctioned countries globally.

It is the Iranian government’s long-held position that Iran has no nuclear weapons program and won’t seek to develop nuclear weapons and that the Strait of Hormuz should be open for Iran and for all the oil and gas exporting countries. China supports Iran’s position, not the U.S. blockade of the strait.

Biden made a similar wild gamble applying sanctions against Russia in Ukraine in 2022. To Biden’s chagrin, the Russian ruble did not become rubble. Russia looked east and moved forward. The multi-billion dollar U.S. and EU-funded war in Ukraine has diminished U.S. power and done far more to dismantle NATO than to dismember Russia.

Rational decisions not possible

It’s unrealistic to assume that the realization by commentators, think tanks and media pundits of a diminished role for U.S. imperialism will lead Washington to more rational foreign policy choices. It assumes that capitalism is a rational system.

Late stage capitalism with its hugely consolidated wealth is especially disorganized chaos and ruthless competition driven to new heights. It is held together by the world’s largest military machine that is also a source of its capitalists’ greatest profits.

Capitalism is fundamentally destabilizing. Unrestrained market competition and the profit motive inherently generate socio-economic instability, widespread inequality and ecological degradation. No policy decision can change this.

Commentators may wish for rationality and for a policy that reflects the declining U.S. position. But the decision makers are a ruthless gaggle of contending interest groups. Their profits and very survival are based on dominance of a global empire. Any rational decisions are frustrated by their greatest source of secure guaranteed profits — the military industries. The military budget is scheduled for $1.5 trillion. This swallows every social need.

On Trump’s return, no change to U.S. aggression 

President Xi made clear that Taiwan was “the most important issue in China-U.S. relations,” that “Taiwan independence” and cross-strait peace are “as irreconcilable as fire and water,” and that mishandling the question would lead to “clashes and even conflicts.” President Xi’s warning on Taiwan was said publicly to President Trump’s face and to the whole world. It was quickly ignored.

Trump appeared to listen gravely and to nod agreement. But within hours of boarding the flight home, the largest ever U.S. arms package with Taiwan was back on the table. In a May 17 interview aired on Fox News, just as Trump wrapped up the high-stakes visit to China where Taiwan was clearly marked as “the most important issue in China-U.S. relations,” he declared the $14 billion package was “a very good negotiating chip for us frankly,” and that it “depends on China.”

Once he left Beijing, Trump’s rhetoric on Taiwan shifted further as militarists, think tanks and powerful forces set up a media chatter. Trump pushed back against any policy reversal, insisting that the U.S. has a clear interest in a secure and independent Taiwan and that defense provisions must not be weakened.

Trump then posted a new ultimatum and possible attack on Iran: “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them.” Iran continues to reject U.S. threats, demanding instead that sanctions be lifted, frozen assets be released and the U.S.-imposed naval blockade of its ports be lifted.

The return also involved threats to indict and kidnap 94-year-old former Cuban President Raul Castro. Evo Morales of Bolivia claimed the U.S. Marines in Bolivia are threatening to seize him on ridiculous charges in an effort to block a massive general strike in Bolivia.

The U.S. just brought Alex Saab from Venezuela back here to prison. The U.S. had kidnapped and tortured Saab years ago. He had been officially pardoned by the U.S. government in order to carry out a prisoner exchange in 2023.

Peace was nowhere on the U.S. agenda.