High-level diplomatic meetings between US and Chinese leaders are largely performative, designed to create positive "mood music." The true, underlying relationship is defined by a deep and persistent lack of trust between the two nations' security apparatuses, which continues unabated.

Anne Applebaum argues that certain leaders don't analyze geopolitical issues by what benefits the nation, but by how they personally emerge as a 'winner.' This transforms complex diplomacy into a quest for applause and personal validation, rather than strategic problem-solving.

The Trump-Xi summit lacks a deep policy agenda. Its primary purpose is for Trump to create a spectacle and change the news cycle, flipping the traditional dynamic where the US trades symbolism for Chinese concessions. The meeting is more about optics for Trump than substantive diplomacy.

Deng Xiaoping's 1979 trip to the US rapidly dissolved America's Cold War antipathy towards China, creating a "love fest" that fundamentally reset the relationship. This event stands as the historical benchmark for a true inflection point, a feat that today's leaders aspire to but find difficult to achieve amid deeper conflicts.

Historically, the U.S. traded diplomatic form (e.g., pageantry) for substantive policy concessions from China. Trump's intense focus on receiving "face" flips this dynamic, allowing China to achieve its substantive goals—like buying time from U.S. pressure—at the low cost of theatrical praise.

Trump's team appeared overly impressed by the red-carpet treatment in China. This public display of admiration ceded valuable "face" to Beijing without securing substantive concessions, a move that Chinese leadership would likely never reciprocate.

Trump's effusive expressions of respect and friendship towards Xi Jinping, while potentially synthetic, effectively leveraged the Chinese leadership's desire for "mutual respect." This personal approach created a positive atmosphere, serving as a transactional tool to smooth diplomatic interactions.

The personal dynamic between Trump and Xi is rooted in a similar psychological need for respect and even fawning from their counterparts. This mutual quest for admiration allowed them to connect on a personal level, smoothing over diplomatic tensions during their summit.

High-stakes meetings between US and Chinese leaders may focus more on projecting positive "mood music" than achieving concrete outcomes. For a US president needing a foreign policy win, China can offer the appearance of cooperation, such as promising future purchases, without making significant concessions on core security or technology issues.