China hawks seethe as Trump rolls out red carpet for Xi

China hawks on both sides of the aisle in the U.S. are seething as President Trump prepares to welcome the country’s President Xi Jinping for what is expected to be a lavish three-day state visit to Washington. 

Unlike with other world leaders, Trump is pulling out all the stops for his Chinese counterpart. Trump took the unusual step of welcoming Xi at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday evening and will greet him again Thursday on the South Lawn for an elaborate arrival ceremony complete with B-2 Spirit and F-22 Raptor flyovers. 

Critics are questioning why Trump, who has a storied history of slamming China, is rolling out the red carpet for the U.S. adversary. 

“Had the White House asked me for advice, I would have suggested the president not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here in the United States, based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chair of the Senate Arms Services Committee, said on the upper chamber floor Tuesday evening.

Despite the criticism over the state visit, many China critics say they are not as concerned about the optics of the state visit as much as they are about the policy developments that come out of the event. 

“To me, the overall arrival and presentation is one thing. It’s certainly symbolic and can matter, especially for the Chinese side,” said Andrew Harding, a policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation who previously served as Special Assistant for Asia on the National Security Council under Trump. 

“But I think from an American perspective, we need to focus on the substance of the agreements,” he continued. “What matters most about determining where the president’s position is is what is ultimately negotiated........

© The Hill