Xi Meets Trump: What's Really Behind the 'Great Friendship'

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Xi Meets Trump: What's Really Behind the 'Great Friendship'.

Fighter jets in the sky, a state banquet in the evening: When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Donald Trump in Washington, the White House staged a reception that caused a worldwide stir. The images looked like they were from another era – almost like a state visit between two superpowers meeting as equals. But what really lies behind this gesture?

The new SPIEGEL podcast »Eine wirklich große Freundschaft« (A Truly Great Friendship) tackles exactly this question. SPIEGEL correspondent Bernhard Zand analyzes what the media-savvy appearance means – and what role it plays that the US is leaving the Chinese alone when it comes to oil purchases.

What happened during Xi's visit to Washington?

Trump received his Chinese guest with unusual protocolary effort: fighter jets escorted the presidential aircraft, followed by a state banquet in the evening. Such appearances are signals – both at home and abroad. They show allies and rivals how one state treats another.

What you take away from the podcast

Bernhard Zand is one of SPIEGEL's most experienced correspondents for the region. In the podcast, he contextualizes the symbolism of the reception and sheds light on background details that often get buried in the headlines – including the question of why the US allows China to buy oil from contested sources. Anyone who wants to understand how Washington and Beijing really stand with each other gets a well-founded assessment here, beyond the staging.