Trump to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago

Chinese President Xi JinpIng and President Trump

(Image credit: Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images)

published 6 April 2017

On Thursday, President Trump will welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The summit will offer the leaders a chance to forge a personal relationship, after Trump has repeatedly attacked China for its trade practices, among other issues. The White House said the discussions, which are expected to touch on North Korea, trade, and climate change, will "set a framework" for future relations between the nations.

However, Politico noted that Xi's team could have the upper hand in negotiations, as Trump has yet to fill many key positions. "Those are very key players, and without people in those positions, it is hard to imagine that the administration in this short period of time has been able to come with a comprehensive China policy," said Dennis Wilder, who recently served as the CIA's deputy assistant director for East Asia and the Pacific.

The people Trump will be bringing to the meetings — including son-in-law Jared Kushner and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson — largely lack experience. Xi, on the other hand, will have by his side a team with "decades of experience in negotiating with at least three successive American presidents, and a huge playbook brimming with research and intelligence," Politico reported.