Trump vs. Xi: On the Way to G20 …

Written by Frank Li

The G20 summit currently under way in Germany is significant. Two examples:

1. G20 summit could mark end of the US as global leader, but what’s next?
2. Trump and Putin will have their first official meeting on Friday at G20.

However, what happened for President Trump and Chinese President Xi on their respective ways to the summit was at least equally significant, but far less obvious to most Americans. So let me explain …

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1. Overview

Where did President Trump stop on his way to the G20 summit? Warsaw! What did he do over there? Giving a major speech with this major headline message: “The West will never, ever be broken; our values will prevail!” For more, read: In Poland, Trump Asks Whether West has ‘Will to Survive’.

Where did President Xi stop on his way to the G20 summit? Moscow! What did he do over there? Below is the headline from this article: ‘Best time in history’ for China-Russia relationship: Xi and Putin boost ties.

1. Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a two-day state visit to Russia where he met with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
2. A $10 billion investment fund was announced for cross-border infrastructure projects linked to “One Belt, One Road” and the Eurasian Economic Union.
3. China and Russia also issued a joint statement calling for the halt of North Korea’s missile testing program and that the U.S. and South Korea should stop carrying out joint military exercises.

2. Poland and President Trump

Geographically, Poland is sandwiched between Germany and Russia (via its former satellite states under the USSR, at least), as shown by the image below.

Simply put, Poland has had two severe setbacks recently: first communism and then democracy!

Specifically, communism under the USSR was obviously a huge disaster. On the other hand, leaning toward Germany under democracy has turned out to be not significantly better. Three main reasons:

1. Democracy without robust capitalism first has been a disaster all over the world. For more, read: Democracy: to be or not to be?
2. The West (i.e. Germany chiefly) did bring capitalism to Poland, but mostly in the form of using Poland’s cheap laborers.
3. Poland still needs Russia as a chief supplier of natural resources (e.g. oil and natural gas).

What does Poland want, and need, most from the U.S.? More supplies of natural resources! Unfortunately, the U.S. can’t do it, especially in competition with Russia. So what did President Trump do instead? He delivered an empty speech by providing more “Western values”! It apparently still has some appeal to the “fooled by democracy” Polish people.

Bottom line: Poland will continue to be used as a pawn in the chess match between the U.S. and Russia.

3. Russia and President Xi

Like Poland, Russia has experienced its own pair of debacles recently: first communism and then democracy!

Unlike Poland, Russia has a great leader in its President: Putin!

President Putin not only seems to have realized that changing Russia from communism to democracy, which included the disintegration of the USSR, was a huge mistake, but also has been doing his best to rectify it. After all, Russia had a chance to be like today’s China, if only Mr. Gorbachev had been as great as China’s Deng (Mikhail Gorbachev vs. Deng Xiaoping).

Bottom line: The Russia-China alliance is not only real and strategic for both countries, but also materialistic in monetary terms, thanks to the strong leadership by both President Putin and President Xi!

For more, read: President Trump in the Real World of Three New Kingdoms.

4. Discussion

America is desperately in need of a great peaceful transformational leader like China’s Deng (Donald Trump vs. Deng Xiaoping). Will President Trump be that leader (Donald Trump 2.0)? Increasingly unlikely!

Let’s focus on foreign policy alone … Candidate Trump presented, via a major speech in the last phase of his campaign, a new vision that was good not only for America, but also for the world (America’s Post-WWII Foreign Policy). Two examples:

1. NATO: Donald Trump is right about one thing: NATO is obsolete.
2. Foreign policy: Donald Trump reveals his isolationist foreign-policy instincts.

Unfortunately, once in office, President Trump dramatically changed on foreign policy, including reversals on several key issues. Two examples:

1. NATO: Trump says NATO ‘no longer obsolete’.
2. Afghanistan: Trump Gives Mattis Authority to Send More Troops to Afghanistan. In other words, he is not remotely as good as he was in 2013, as shown by the image below. For more, read: Sending No More American Troops to Afghanistan!

As a result, he chose to visit Poland, a strategically irrelevant country other than being a NATO member and a pawn in the chess match between the U.S. and Russia.

In contrast, both Presidents Putin and Xi are proven leaders, who are not only hugely popular at home, but also wildly respected abroad. They have been using every opportunity to strengthen their alliance (Xi meets Putin in Moscow for 3rd time this year).

President Trump must up his game by a few notches in order to match Presidents Putin and Xi!

For a holistic diagnosis of our failing political system and the best possible solution, read my book: American Democracy – Why is it failing & how to fix it? President Trump has the book (see his acknowledgment letter below).

5. Closing

As a staunch supporter, I not only had high hopes for President Trump, but also spelled out the path to greatness for him (President Trump Must Be One-Term, Voluntarily!). But my hopes are quickly vanishing …

Now, please sit back and enjoy the video below. Still wondering why President Trump admires President Putin so much?