U.S. President Donald Trump completed his visit to the People’s Republic of China(PRC) on May 14 and 15, 2026, a first in nine years. As the most consequential bilateral relation, the entire world watched this visit with great anticipation. However, as things stand, it appears that the visit was a stalemate and little was achieved by way of progress, and the two sides are not even closer to returning to the state of managed rivalry, which in turn was a bare minimum expectation. China frames it as “constructive strategic stability”, but it seems to be unwilling to make any concessions to achieve that and puts the burden of instability squarely on the U.S.

China’s strategic outlook

One of the expressions used by Chinese President Xi Jinping right at the start of his readout, that the “transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe”, merits special attention. While this is not the first time Mr. Xi has used this expression in front of the U.S. President, its last usage led to a binary in which the ball was in the American court to choose whether they wanted confrontation or cooperation. This time, it’s a choice on whether or not the two sides can avoid a Thucydides’ trap that would eventually lead them towards conflicts or confrontations.

This term made its first appearance in December 2017, during China’s ambassadorial work conference, when Mr. Xi said that the world is undergoing “profound changes unseen in a century”. It reflects China’s assessment that the global power transition has entered its most decisive stage and China’s eclipsing of the U.S. is a matter of time. Chinese analysts have assessed that China’s GDP is set to bypass the United States by 2030 and other indicators of powers would follow suit.

The reference to a century is what makes it especially curious. China seems to be thinking that a century ago, driven by the decline of Europe across two world wars, global power made a transatlantic shift, making the U.S. the most powerful country in the world, and made liberalism its most central standpoint. Before that, the 19th century saw a different form of globalisation in the rise of colonialism and imperialism. In a similar fashion, China’s rise is projected as inevitable and its rise as a norm-building power even more certain. It underpins China’s confidence in ascending to what it calls its rightful place in the international system.

This would also lead to an interesting analysis. It seems that China views Brexit and the first election of Donald Trump as U.S. President — driven by a conservative, insecure, to a large extent supremacist and deglobalisation-driven agenda as signs of the certain and inevitable decline of the West, the roots of which were seen in the 2008 financial crisis. After this, China emerged as a new voice of globalisation and began strongly criticising the West for its withdrawal from globalisation, just as the prosperity was beginning to spread away from traditional centres of power.

Reshaping global dynamics

Towards the goal of its rise, China has accelerated its assault on the current international order through various initiatives like the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security initiative (GSI). China is using these to discredit the U.S. led order by portraying it to be divisive and disruptive, while presenting its own approach to global security as driven by “common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable” security. It also identifies its approach to the idea of development as being more “balanced, coordinated, and inclusive” for the developing world. Through its initiatives and critique of the current order, China is seeking to and in some cases is, leading multilateralism and south-south cooperation, while undercutting the norms of the liberal order.

For countries like India, this increased power rivalry makes life more difficult. In the phase where there was a managed competition between the U.S. and China, other countries worked their way to hedge their bets between the two. However, now they are facing trade wars and tariffs, supply chain volatilities, the risks arising from the U.S.-Israel war on Iran and overall strategic instability. Add to it the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and its potential impact on the job markets, and the result is a volatile mix. A rising power imagining its destiny to be on the horizon and a dominant power in a combative mood may cause more unintended consequences in the years to come.

(Avinash Godbole is a Professor and Associate Academic Dean, JSLH, JGU. Views expressed are personal.)

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday (April 15, 2026) that the stability and certainty of China-Russia relations are particularly “precious” in the face of an international landscape intertwined with change and chaos.

During a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Beijing, Mr. Xi said the strong vitality and exemplary significance of the friendship treaty between the two countries stand out even more under such a backdrop.

China is ready to strengthen strategic communication with ​Ireland and expand practical cooperation, while aiming to ‌achieve mutually beneficial results, Chinese President ​Xi Jinping told Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin on Monday (January 5, 2026).

Mr. Xi did not elaborate on what cooperation China was interested to further in his opening remarks at their meeting at the Great Hall of the People, but emphasised mutual ​respect and achieving win-win outcomes as “valuable experiences for ⁠the long-term, stable development of China-Ireland ties”.

China has shown growing interest in engaging with European Union countries individually as ​ties with Brussels remain frosty. Mr. Martin, ⁠the first Irish Taoiseach to visit Beijing in 14 years, said that Ireland acknowledged China’s “indispensable role” in the world, highlighting its role ‌in peacekeeping efforts. He also stressed Ireland’s stance ‌on open trade, a topic that could feature in discussions between the ‍leaders.

“We believe it’s fundamental that we try and work towards open trade, recognising the interdependence of ‍the world,” the Taoiseach said of trade ties with China.

Mr. Martin’s trip comes two weeks after Beijing announced tariffs on EU dairy products, imposing provisional duties of up to 42.7%, the latest in a series of measures against EU exports widely seen as retaliation for the bloc’s electric vehicle tariffs.

Ireland ⁠is among Europe’s largest exporters of dairy products, shipping overseas more than 90% ​of the output from its family farms in trade ⁠worth €6 billion ($7.02 billion). It was among the EU nations that voted in favour of tariffs on Chinese EVs.

Mr. Martin will travel to Shanghai before his state visit ⁠ends on Thursday (January 8, 2026).

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday (December 31, 2025) hailed his country’s technological progress in areas such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors while once again insisting his country would annex self-ruled Taiwan.

During his New Year’s Eve address broadcast on Wednesday (December 31) evening by state media, Mr. Xi praised the country’s advancements in key sectors, including military tech and space exploration. Images ranging from humanoid robots performing kung fu to new hydropower projects rolled on the screen as he spoke.

Also Read | China’s live fire drills around Taiwan resume for a second day, aimed at warning ‘external forces’

“We sought to energise high-quality development through innovation,” Mr. Xi said while thanking Chinese people for contributing to the country’s economic growth over the past five years.

China plans its economic development over periods of five years and is preparing to discuss its new five-year plan at the upcoming legislative session in March.

The country is set to speed up self-reliance in science and technology as the United States imposes increasingly tight controls on access to semiconductors and other high-tech items.

Mr. Xi also praised the country’s rising prominence on the world stage by listing high-level political events and exchanges it hosted over the past year.

Regarding Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China considers sovereign territory, Xi reiterated Beijing’s annexation intentions.

“We Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a bond of blood and kinship,” he said. “The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable.”

China this week conducted two days of military drills around Taiwan, launching rockets and sending aircraft and warships in response to a planned arms sale by the U.S. to the island.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, in his own New Year’s address on Thursday, pledged to resist China’s ” expansionist ambitions ” and bolster the island’s self-defense.

A group of Chinese H-6K bombers recently flew near Taiwan to practice “confrontation drills”, Chinese state media reported late on Sunday (October 26, 2025), publicising the action just a few days before the U.S. and Chinese presidents are due to meet in South Korea.

Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, sends its combat aircraft and warships into the skies and waters around the island on a daily basis, though Taipei’s Defence Ministry has not reported any unusual activity lately.

Chinese state television’s military channel’s Weibo account said that recently — it did not give a date — units from the Eastern Theatre Command had conducted combat-oriented training to test their capabilities in areas like air blockades and precision strikes.

“Several J-10 fighters flew in combat formation to a designated target airspace, and multiple H-6K bombers went to the waters and airspace around Taiwan island to carry out simulated confrontation drills,” it added, without providing the location.

China’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Taiwan’s Defence Ministry had no immediate comment.

The H-6K is a strategic bomber that can carry nuclear weapons.

The report added that defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity through “concrete actions and safeguarding the peace and happiness of hundreds of millions of people is our solemn commitment”.

It showed a video of bombs being dropped, and in one segment an air force officer says that the “coast of Taiwan can be clearly made out”, though it is not clear from the image whether any land can be seen.

Trump XI meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet on the sidelines of a regional summit in South Korea this week to discuss their ongoing trade dispute.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday (October 26, 2025) that Taiwan should not be concerned about the talks.

Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, has over the decades enjoyed strong though unofficial support from the United States, which despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

On Saturday (October 25, 2025), a senior Chinese official said China and Taiwan should work to achieve “peaceful reunification”, marking the 80th anniversary of Taiwan being handed over to the Chinese government from Japanese rule at the end of World War Two.

In an interview with two Taiwanese YouTubers broadcast late on Saturday (October 25, 2025), Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said peace had to rely on strength, pointing to his government’s commitment to increased defence spending.

“We have ideals about peace, but cannot have illusions to believe that an agreement on a piece of paper can achieve peace,” he added.

China has rebuffed multiple offers of talks from Mr. Lai, accusing him of being a “separatist”. Mr. Lai has said only Taiwan’s people can decide their future

President Donald Trump’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, has described as “troublesome” the show of unity between the leaders of India, Russia and China, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to be with Washington, Europe and Ukraine, not with Russia.

Mr. Navarro’s remarks came after the public display of bonhomie by the three leaders on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin on Monday (September 1, 2025).

“It’s troublesome. It’s troublesome,” Mr. Navarro said at the White House on Monday (September 1, 2025) when asked about the “show of unity” between Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping and Mr. Vladimir Putin.

“It was a shame to see Mr. Modi getting in bed as the leader of the biggest democracy in the world with the two biggest authoritarian dictators in the world, Putin and Xi Jinping. That doesn’t make any sense,” the Trump administration’s senior counsellor for Trade and Manufacturing said.

His remarks, and the display of camaraderie between Mr. Modi, Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi, came against the backdrop of possibly the worst phase in India-U.S. relations in over two decades, with the strain exacerbated by President Trump’s tariff policy and constant criticism of New Delhi by his administration.

“I’m not sure what he (Mr. Modi) is thinking, particularly since India has been in a cold war and sometimes a hot war with China for decades. So we hope that the Indian leader comes around to seeing that he needs to be with us and Europe and Ukraine and not with Russia on this and he needs to stop buying the oil,” Mr. Navarro said.

The Trump administration has imposed 25% reciprocal tariffs on India and an additional 25% levies for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, bringing the total duties imposed on India to 50%, among the highest in the world.

India has called the tariffs imposed by the U.S. “unjustified and unreasonable”.

Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.

Russia has emerged as India’s top energy supplier since the West slapped sanctions on its crude oil after the invasion of Ukraine.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu in Tianjin on Sunday (August 31, 2025) and called for deepening bilateral ties with effective implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit being held in Tianjin on Sunday.

The Maldives is a Dialogue Partner of the 10-member SCO bloc.

Mr. Xi told Mr. Muizzu that the two countries have achieved positive progress in advancing Belt and Road cooperation, and China will continue to deepen practical cooperation with the Maldives to ensure the effective implementation of the China-Maldives FTA. Both countries should advance cooperation in areas including fisheries, marine scientific research, environmental protection, as well as disaster prevention and reduction, he said.

For his part, Mr. Muizzu said the Maldives is willing to work with China to expand cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, housing construction and tourism, and to strengthen coordination and collaboration within multilateral mechanisms, including the SCO, state-run Xinhua news agency.

This is Mr. Muizzu’s second visit to China.

He visited China in January last year, soon after his election campaign, during which he pushed an ‘India Out’ agenda calling for the withdrawal of Indian personnel operating helicopter medical services and Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft.

In the subsequent months, he has normalised relations with India after New Delhi replaced the crew with civilians and provided substantial economic assistance to help the Maldives ward off a forex crisis.

Mr. Muizzu visited India in June to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.