00:01State visits to China of this magnitude usually take months of preparation,
00:06countless hours of back-channel horse trading, and optics planned to the most precise detail.
00:12By many accounts, that hasn't happened ahead of this summit,
00:16especially with Washington's attention squarely on the war with Iran.
00:20There's palpable concern here in Beijing that this two-day affair could be splashed
00:26with far too much spontaneity for China's liking.
00:30They want no risk, they want a no-thrill summit,
00:32and they want deliverables on both sides clearly defined.
00:35How do you do that with an administration that is not engaging in the traditional way
00:41that U.S. administrations have engaged their counterparts in China?
00:45Is there a clear China policy, do you think, in the White House?
00:49No, I don't think there is.
00:50The issues are endless.
00:52Front and center could be the war in Iran.
00:55Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism.
00:59And anyone who's buying oil from Iran is contributing to that.
01:02We're looking for stability with China.
01:04We don't want this to be something that derails the broader relationship
01:09or any agreements that might come out of our meeting in Beijing.
01:12Also, will the two leaders solidify a more lasting trade agreement?
01:17Boeing airplanes, soybeans, rare earths, perhaps even the most advanced AI chips
01:22could all be up for discussion.
01:24The fact that the U.S. is hosting G20 and China is hosting APEC,
01:28which means their ministers are running around in each other's big cities all year long,
01:32and the two leaders will meet in these multilateral environments, is also very positive.
01:37But is Taiwan on the table?
01:40Xi may want certain assurances from Trump with an arms package to the island pending in D.C.
01:48The two sides may end up playing it safe,
01:51announcing easier deliverables like better people-to-people exchanges or even visa-free travel.
01:58A long shot for sure, but China has implemented that with many more countries of late
02:03as a diplomatic outreach and a way to boost a sluggish economy.
02:07As far as the services sector goes, there's absolutely no question at all
02:12that the domestic tourism market is absolutely booming.
02:17Keep in mind, this summit is on China's turf,
02:20begging the question, has the Trump White House readied its most effective away game plan?
02:26They're putting a lot of stock on the personal diplomacy between President Trump and President Xi.
02:32It's not a long-term strategy. It's a short-term strategy.
02:35Stephen Engel, Bloomberg News, Beijing.
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