U.S. President's Visit to Beijing: The Weakening of the Autocratic Axis Denies China the Opportunity to Exploit Divisions Between Donald Trump and the U.S. Institutional System

With the onset of an intensified phase of confrontation between the autocratic axis and the democratic world, meetings between the leaders of the United States and China have evolved into markers of the current balance of achievements in the key domains of strategic resources. 

It was precisely in this context that global political circles, the expert community, and business elites focused their attention on the May 12–15, 2026 meeting between President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping — as an indicator of the broader state of global confrontation.

By the conclusion of the summit, however, a consensus had emerged that assessed the meeting almost exclusively through its external manifestations, shaped largely by President Trump’s unexpectedly conciliatory behavior. The position he articulated appeared substantially weaker than the expert community had anticipated.