ROOKE: Trump’s China Trip Leaves US With More Questions Than Answers

Photo by Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images

President Donald Trump returned from his historic state visit to Beijing with announcements of major trade commitments from China.

The White House announced that China agreed to new bilateral trade and investment boards. China is also set to purchase at least $17 billion per year in U.S. agricultural products and restore access to Chinese markets for American beef and poultry. The two countries made steps on rare earth minerals deals as the battle to win the AI race continues to heat up.

Trump described the outcomes as delivering for American workers, farmers, and manufacturers while enhancing the “stability and confidence for businesses and consumers around the world.”

Yet on the tarmac in Beijing, a different scene played out. White House staff collected every item handed out by Chinese hosts. Everyone was required to dump gifts, badges, pins, credentials, and even the burner phones used by the delegation into a trash bin at the bottom of Air Force One’s stairs before being allowed to board, according to the New York Post. Nothing of Chinese origin was permitted on the plane. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)

Additionally, personal devices had been left behind in the U.S. The entire delegation operated under strict operational security, including the use of burner phones in China.

U.S. presidents have long treated high-threat countries such as China with extreme caution due to espionage risks. Still, requiring everyone to throw away all Chinese-provided items underscores that senior officials in the Trump administration still view the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a sophisticated adversary capable of hurting the U.S.

This begs the question: If China is such a threat that we have to use counter-intelligence protocol to protect against attacks, then why is Trump telling Fox News host Sean Hannity that the U.S. should allow China to own American farmland and Chinese students into U.S. universities?

WATCH IN FULL: President Donald J. Trump’s interview with @FoxNews amid his historic state visit to China pic.twitter.com/YpyOixp9A0 — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 15, 2026

WATCH IN FULL: President Donald J. Trump’s interview with @FoxNews amid his historic state visit to China pic.twitter.com/YpyOixp9A0

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 15, 2026

Is there a risk or not?

In 2023, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported that Chinese nationals owned around 338,000 acres of U.S. farmland. The national........

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