What did Trump gain (or lose) in meeting with Xi Jinping?

Little of substance was accomplished over two days of talks. But Chinese officials expected no less after warning Trump’s team before the summit that its minimal preparation had failed to lay the groundwork for diplomatic agreements.

[Not only that, but Trump took billionaires, cabinet members, family members (and Bret Ratner) along with him, rather than State Department experts in China.]

The two men discussed the matter [Taiwan] “the whole night,” Trump told Fox.

If China attacked, “they would be met harshly, and bad things will happen,” Trump said. Yet within the same answer, he questioned Taiwan’s “odds” against China if war were to break out, even with U.S. help, noting its proximity to the Chinese mainland and its vast distance away from the United States.

Whether Trump will proceed with arms sales to Taiwan — passed by Congress and obligated by law under the Taiwan Relations Act — is still an open question.

While the Trump administration offered itself glowing reviews of the outcome of the summit, the Chinese government offered little to say as he departed. And Chinese media highlighted Beijing’s resolute stance on American priorities — from trade to the Iran war — as evidence of Chinese confidence and American decline.

As President Trump left Beijing on Friday, Chinese social media resurfaced a familiar nickname for the president — flattering at first glance — declaring that Chuan Jianguo, the “Nation Builder,” had returned.

It was not meant as a compliment. The nation he is building, according to the Chinese, is not the United States but their own, through a series of inadvertent yet costly mistakes inflicted by Trump at home and abroad.

Donald Trump Wants Russia and China to Help Combat the International Court That Charges War Crimes, Report Claims​

Trump’s administration has punished the ICC during his second term for "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or our close ally, Israel"

During his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, President Donald Trump reportedly floated the United States joining forces with Russia and China to combat the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to the Financial Times.

Trump’s administration has punished the ICC during his second term, imposing sanctions on ICC prosecutor Karim Khan just weeks after he returned to the White House last year for “issuing baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu” and for launching investigations into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan and other U.S. allies.

In December, Russia sentenced ICC judges and Khan, the prosecutor, to prison time in absentia in retaliation for the war crimes allegations [against Russia. presumably].

In the months that followed Trump's initial executive order targeting Khan, Secretary of State Marco Rubio added 10 ICC judges from countries across five continents to the sanctions list, restricting their access to U.S. visas, technology companies such as Amazon and Netflix, and financial systems, including banks and credit card companies.

The United States, Russia, China and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute, which established the court in 1998 and defined the four crimes the ICC is chartered to investigate: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

On Tuesday, May 19, Israeli Finance Minister ⁠Bezalel Smotrich announced that the ICC had issued a warrant for his arrest. He responded by ordering the demolition of a Palestinian village in the West Bank, according to the BBC.

Navy's acting secretary says $14 billion Taiwan arms sale put on "pause" over Iran war​

Asked at a congressional hearing about the stalled $14 billion weapons purchase by Taiwan, Acting Secretary Hung Cao said that "right now we're doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury — which we have plenty."

But not plenty enough! Or... is this what Xi got out of the meeting?