Trump-Xi Summit Raises Questions About China and Global Security

0:00 Speaker 1 Sunday morning. Well, what’s going on in the Far East? Well, there’s nobody better than Gordon G. Chang and his Twitter for 24 hours knowing what’s going on, at Gordon G. Chang. Gordon Chang, what the heck is going on in the Far East? Everybody else is talking about Iran. Everybody else is talking about the problems in Russia. Your department, the

0:24 Far East, what the heck is going on?

0:27 Speaker 2 Well, the Far East is coming to the United States on Thursday, the 24th, when Xi Jinping will be in Washington for a summit with President Trump. He arrives on the preceding Wednesday. President Trump is reportedly going to meet him on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base. This is significant because Xi Jinping did not meet President Trump

0:52 on the tarmac in Beijing yesterday. And this is going to be a signal, at least many in the world will interpret it, that the United States is acknowledging its inferior position to China because the president feels that he has to honor the Chinese leader at the tarmac. Now, President Trump obviously doesn’t think that, but this is the

1:14 signal the world is going to get.

1:16 Speaker 1 Gordon, my opinion, he’s showing respect, my opinion, not weakness. He’s showing respect and he wants to bring the world closer together without bringing it closer together to war. But this is your interview. You tell us the way you think it is.

1:37 Speaker 2 Well, I think that you it’s right. President Trump is trying to show respect to the Chinese leader to try to accommodate him. And President Trump has been generous, not only to Xi Jinping, but also to Vladimir Putin, giving them off ramps. That’s important. But we also have got to remember the way the world interprets it, because the

1:59 way the world interprets it is not necessarily the way that President Trump views it. And he’s got to understand that we need our friends and our partners around the world. We need to think in their minds that we’re strong.

2:13 And this is not a signal that will do that. Now, ultimately, the result of the summit is going to be critical in determining how the world views it. And that’s, you know, we always have to keep that in the back of our mind. One other thing, and that is many people have viewed this as President Trump adopting that wisdom from

2:35 the Godfather that you keep your friends close, but you keep your enemies closer. that could also be figuring into the way President Trump views this.

2:45 Speaker 1 Understood. And North Korea, he seems to be, they have a relationship with North Korea, they have a relationship with Putin, and he has a relationship with Xi. But right now, all of them are against him, trying to support Iran and trying to support that part of the world, bringing down, maybe getting Democrats elected in the next election in order

3:23 to change the power struggle, the power in America. What do you think?

3:30 Speaker 2 Yes, well, certainly the crinks, as they’re called, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, they’re getting very close. They’re tightening their bonds. And clearly, we’re having problems in Iran, not because we don’t have the power to prevail. We certainly do. But President Trump has prioritized relationships with Beijing over prevailing in Iran.

3:55 And that means we’re at at least a stalemate. And on some days, it appears that Iran is getting the best of us. So this is a question that President Trump’s going to have to face. What’s more important, the relationship with China or winning in Iran?

4:12 Speaker 1 Well, I think making sure that the evil empire of Iran and the evil people running it, because, you know, I think China has some common sense. I think Russia Putin has some common sense, and I think the North Korean has some common sense, but the people in Iran running the country have no common sense.

4:35 Speaker 2 Oh, absolutely. 100% agree with that. I believe that the president should be prioritizing Iran, because if we defang Iran, it means China and Russia and North Korea are increasingly isolated. Remember, President Trump, in that stunning move on January 3, took out Venezuela. That relationship with China was broken. Venezuela now has a strong relationship with the United States. We see

5:05 President Trump, very effective diplomacy in Panama, kicking the Chinese out of the canal zone. And, of course, Cuba, which we are now pressuring another Chinese friend. So, you know, President Trump in his national security strategy last December said, put the Western Hemisphere number one. President Trump’s been very effective in doing that. Right now, though, the world doesn’t

5:30 focus on the Western Hemisphere. It focuses on Iran.

5:35 Speaker 1 I agree with you 100%. Gordon Chang, anything else you want to tell the American people on a Sunday morning?

5:42 Speaker 2 Yeah, the interesting thing is that Xi Jinping is not in good health. At the opening ceremony of the BRICS in New Delhi, He obviously had a health incident. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was speaking at the moment, actually interrupted himself to inquire about Xi Jinping’s situation. We don’t know if the rumors are true or not. People are talking

6:05 about stroke. I don’t think that’s the case. But when people circulate those rumors, it means they’re trying to destabilize people. the leader. Also, there are incredible rumors about what the military is doing inside of China right now. Again, I don’t think those rumors are true, but nonetheless, it does show the regime is in a state of turmoil.

6:30 Speaker 1 I agree. Well, Gordon G. Chang, Twitter, at Gordon G. Chang, thank you so much for everything you do, and let’s talk again real soon.

6:40 Speaker 2 God bless, John.