President Donald Trump’s second term has been notable for some head-spinning changes in U.S. foreign policy. Who could have predicted that Trump would launch a cold war with Canada and a love-in with the Chavista regime in Venezuela?

But in many ways, Trump’s most important transformation has been from China hawk to China dove. That change will be highlighted this week when President Xi Jinping of China becomes only the second foreign leader — after King Charles III — to receive the honor of a state dinner in Trump’s second term.

How far we have come since 2016, when Trump accused China of “raping” the United States, or 2024, when he said, “They are killing us as a country.” He acted on those concerns in April 2025 when he imposed heavy tariffs on China — up to 145 percent. China responded with restrictions on exports of rare-earth minerals that threatened to cripple U.S. manufacturing, and Trump quickly backed down.

Not only did Trump lower tariffs on China (the effective tariff rate is now 23 percent), but, even more significantly, he also lowered restrictions on U.S. technology exports to China. In December 2025, he approved the sale of Nvidia’s second-most powerful artificial intelligence chip, which has helped China to gain ground on the U.S. in the AI race.

That trade truce paved the way in May for a congenial Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, where Trump gushed to Xi, “We’re going to have a........

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