Trump and Putin in Beijing with Xi - From the Perspective of The South China Morning Post

 

Xi’s back-to-back meetings with Trump and Putin in Beijing:everything you need to know

China’s leader hosted Trump and Putin on separate occasions over the past week, here’s everything you need to know

The presidents of the United States and Russia visited Beijing on separate trips in May to meet with President Xi Jinping. The South China Morning Post produced extensive coverage of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s summit meetings in Beijing. Here are some of the highlights of our coverage, showing you what happened, what it means, and what’s next. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

1. The Xi-Trump summit is over. What comes next in the US-China rivalry?

The US president’s trip to Beijing has been hailed as ‘fantastic’ and ‘historic’ but there are still many known unknowns in ties.

2. Xi and Putin’s united front – from tigers to trade: the summit takeaways

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin attend a welcome ceremony in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Putin’s trip to Beijing came only days after US President Donald Trump’s closely watched visit to the Chinese capital, the back-to-back summits highlighting the strong trust between Beijing and Moscow and China’s ability to manage ties with the two major powers.

3. Could Putin, Trump visits pave the way for ‘trilateral coordination’ with China?

As energy cooperation tops the summit agenda, back-to-back state visits of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin could pave the way for emerging “trilateral coordination” between China, Russia and the United States.

4. Trump leaves China after much pomp and pageantry, but little to show for it

As US President Donald Trump landed back in Washington on Friday after his two-day summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a quick US assessment on one of the most consequential diplomatic visits of Trump’s presidency was: impressive optics, trademark flawless Chinese hosting, but disappointing concrete achievements, according to analysts, industry trade groups and former US officials.

5. Substance for Putin, ‘face’ for Trump as China, Russia deepen strategic alliance

Days after US President Donald Trump’s visit framed around managing risks, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached a raft of agreements and pledged deeper cooperation as they met in Beijing.

6. The toast, the tastes and the tech selfie that crowned the US-China summit

Photo: AFP

Calling Trump’s visit a “historic” trip, Xi said at the banquet that the two countries “should be partners rather than rivals”.

7. Putin is pushing for a ‘serious’ new energy deal in China. Will he get it?

The Russian leader arrived in China days after Trump in search of an energy deal, with yuan settlements, pricing potentially on the table.

8. Inside the royal garden that is Putin’s ‘second home’ in China

The historic guest villas are situated within the tranquil Diaoyutai Scenic Area in the western suburbs of Beijing. Photo: Shutterstock

When Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday evening for a two-day state visit, he once again returned to his “second home” at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, a royal garden that has hosted heavyweights including Richard Nixon, Boris Yeltsin and Kim Jong-un.

9. Trump hails ‘fantastic’ China trade deals, signalling Boeing, oil sales

US President Donald Trump poses for photos with President Xi Jinping on Friday in Beijing. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump said he has secured “fantastic trade deals” during his high-stakes state visit to Beijing, as he met with his counterpart, President Xi Jinping, for a second day in Beijing.

10. China’s Xi Jinping to pay first state visit to US in more than a decade

Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to the US this autumn, the first in more than a decade, as the two powers seek stability amid their deepening rivalry.

China’s Fallen Politburo Star gets Life Sentence for Corruption

Corruption is Everywhere - Certainly in Chinese politics

China's Sun Zhengcai, an ex-political star and one of the youngest Politburo members - seen as a potential contender for a top government position, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for corruption.

The former Communist Party Secretary was convicted of illegally accepting more than 170 million yuan (US $ 26.7 million) in bribes, according to the First Intermediate People’s Court of Tianjin.

Prosecutors also accused Sun of taking advantage of his position to seek profits for others in project bidding, project approval, enterprise operation and personnel promotion.

According to the prosecution, Sun had committed those crimes in the years between 2002 and 2017 during his time as a district party chief in Beijing, Minister of Agriculture, Political Bureau member of the CPC Central Committee and Party chief in north-eastern Jilin province and megacity Chongqing.

Sun pleaded guilty at an open court hearing held on April 12th. The large amount of illegally accepted money could have had Sun sentenced to death.

Chongqing, China

However, additional information that he told the investigation about his crimes and the fact that bribes were accepted by “designated parties” commuted the sentence. In order to retrieve his “illegal gains”, authorities are set to confiscate Sun’s property and he will be deprived of his political rights for the rest of his life.

The commutation here appears to refer to the 'life' sentence as opposed to the 'death' sentence.

Accused of seriously undermining the work of the state and disrupting the integrity rules for officials, Sun pledged to reform himself. One of the youngest members of the powerful Politburo, Sun told the court that he was going to accept the ruling with no intention to appeal it, Xinhua state news agency reported.

Xi has been promoting a massive anti-corruption campaign since he came to the office in 2012. Despite the fact that the campaign has been effective in prosecuting officials, some critics perceived this major ant-corruption crackdown as the president’s way of eliminating his political rivals.

In another recent high-profile case, high-ranking Chinese officer Zhang Yang, former chief of the powerful Central Military Commission’s (CMC) political work department, committed suicide while under investigation for bribery.

Those charged with serious bribery offenses are commonly sentenced to death in China. However the exact number executions is unknown as the figure is classified.

This is the communist way - eliminate your rivals to consolidate your power. Xi is probably doing just that. There is little doubt that just about anyone in the Politburo or any level of Chinese government can be accused of corruption. Only the most promising are likely to be. This ensures Xi's grip on power for many years to come, but also weakens the Politburo by eliminating some of its most talented and capable people. In the end, China will be weaker because of it.