Behind the Scenes of the Trump–Xi Meeting: The Moments You Didn’t See I China Insights

Welcome to today's episode of our super interesting show, Kawasaki Meeting in Progress. But we're not talking about big politics today, just the behind the scenes tidbits. From the moment Trump landed in Beijing until now, there have been so many interesting, awkward, absurd and even confrontational details. From Musk's forced smile to Rubio's winks penalised US media, the half hour standoff between the Secret Service and Chinese security and the US press corps in the little black room, there's much to discuss. Each of these stories is more exciting than the last. In the next 20 minutes, I'll take you through all of them at once. Let's start with Secretary Rubio. Rubio is known as one of the toughest China hawks in the Trump administration. Even back when he was a senator, he openly criticised the Chinese Communist Party for setting up concentration camps in Xinjiang. He openly criticised the Chinese Communist Party for tearing up the Hong Kong autonomy agreement and was placed on the CCP's sanctions list twice. What exactly do these CCP sanctions entail? He was banned from entering China, but now he needed to accompany Trump on a visit to China. So what did the CCP do? They simply changed his name to Liu Biao Qilufei Bilu. That way, this Liu Biao was not under sanctions and could enter China. If you look at his name tag, you'll see how the CCP operates. As long as they themselves aren't embarrassed, it's others who end up feeling awkward. What's even more remarkable is that the great leader, Chairman Xi, still had to shake hands with this sanctioned Rubio. After shaking hands, Xi Jinping looked at him twice in disbelief as if he couldn't believe it. Rubio pressed his lips together, clearly feeling elated inside. As soon as Xi Jinping walked past, he immediately gave President Trump a wink. Oh wow, just look at that expression. Take your time to savour it, friends. What do you think he was trying to say? Leave a comment and tell me what you think. To me, it looks like he's saying, huh, you sanctioned me but still have to shake my hand. What can you do about it? I think he and Trump must have discussed the sanctions privately beforehand, which is why that wink was so meaningful. Later, before the US-China meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Rubio was talking to the person next to him about the ceiling of the Great Hall while waiting for Trump and Xi Jinping to take their seats. He kept looking up and even gave a thumbs up as if he was amazed by how luxurious the decorations were. In contrast, Trump is now being harshly criticised by the Democrats Truly, it's like two completely different worlds between China and the US. Next, let's talk about another unexpected main character from this trip to Beijing, Elon Musk. There were just too many CEOs in Trump's delegation this time. Apple's Tim Cook, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Boeing's Dave Calhoun, BlackRock's Larry Fink, and Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman. The combined market value of these 30 people exceeds a trillion dollars, but the one who stole the show wasn't any of these 30 billionaires. It was Elon Musk. On the first day, while Trump's delegation was waiting to shake hands with Xi Jinping, Musk, the busiest photographer in the room, sprang into action. He pulled out his phone and spun around like someone who had never seen the world before, snapping photos wildly in a 360-degree sweep. What do you think he was doing? He definitely wasn't just amazed by the beauty of the empty square. Maybe he was gathering intel on the internal layout of Zhongnanhai, or perhaps he was collecting material for his next tweet. When it was time for the indoor banquet, the busiest human attraction in the room, Musk, was once again on display, forced to keep up appearances in all sorts of ways. How can I describe the scene? It was like a never-ending stream of group photos, with Musk as the constant centrepiece. As soon as one person finished taking a photo, the next would seamlessly slide in to sit beside him, even before the previous shot was snapped. Our ultimate fanboy, Lei Jun, even jumped the line right in the middle. Look, the guy originally sitting to Musk's right was enthusiastically taking his photo, and Musk was even turning his face to the right to cooperate. But then Lei Jun swooped in with a handshake and forcibly turned Musk's neck to the left. Lei Jun was truly excited. After all, he's Musk's number one superfan. Back in the day, he was a die-hard supporter who spent real money to buy one of the very first Model S cars in China. And after the handshake, Lei Jun immediately pulled out his phone with a swift motion, instantly putting on his signature, determined smile. Poor Musk, at that moment, didn't even know whether his face should keep turning to the right or to the left. He raised his eyebrows and puffed out his cheeks, finally letting out a long sigh to show how speechless he was. On Lei Jun's side, right after taking the photo, he immediately changed his expression, hurriedly lowered his head to check his phone, clearly hoping no one else would come over for a photo. His whole demeanour screamed, I'm busy, I'm busy, don't bother me. This scene, netizens joked that Lei Jun was so starstruck, he got to witness his idol rolling his eyes in person. Some jokesters even set a new rule for group photos. From now on, when Xiaomi car owners meet Tesla car owners, they must proactively ask for a photo together. During the photo, the Xiaomi car owner must smile, while the Tesla car owner is responsible for maintaining a cool, aloof demeanour and rolling their eyes at any moment. I think this is totally doable. If you agree, give me a like and let me know. Everyone must be really curious. At the banquet in the Great Hall of the People, what was Old Ma so busy doing, head down, furiously scrolling on his phone? He was busy replying to people on his own ex-account using simplified Chinese. And what's even more outrageous, guess who he was replying to? It was the number one dissident on the CCP's global most wanted list. Teacher Li is not your teacher. This all started when Teacher Li posted a photo of Musk's youngest son wearing a traditional Chinese vest. As a result, Old Ma himself popped up in the comments using Chinese and replied, my son is learning Mandarin. Teacher Li immediately responded saying, well, that's perfect. He can check out my ex more often in the future to learn about the real lives of ordinary Chinese people, their living conditions. Now that's a powerful statement. To make sure as many friends as possible are up to speed, let's introduce Teacher Li. Teacher Li's real name is Li Ying, and she lives in Italy. She rose to fame during the white paper movement in 2022 because at that time, she was arguably the only person in the world who could post real-time videos from inside China about the anti-pandemic protests. Using crowdsourced footage, he shared censored CCP content. From fires and protests to labor disputes and the Shuzhou chained woman, he covered it all. He is now a top CCP target. Meanwhile, the world's richest man, Musk, was over there sipping maotai brought by Chairman Xi. At the banquet in the Great Hall of the People, he quietly interacted with this top dissident. The comments under the ex post exploded instantly. Brother Ma, do you know who you just replied to? Do you realize you're interacting with a dissident? Can you show me what was served at the banquet? What's even more ironic is that this incident has split the Chinese internet into two parallel universes inside the Great Firewall On platforms like Weibo, Douyin and Xiaohongshu, everyone is celebrating joyfully. State media took the lead in flooding the screen. Musk replied in Chinese at the state banquet and the world's richest man loves Chinese. This is seen as a bridge of friendship between China and the US. In their eyes, Musk replying in Chinese is giving them tremendous space. But on the other side, in the Chinese-speaking community outside the Great Firewall, everyone just laughs quietly, knowing full well that everyone can see he was actually replying to Teacher Li. This is something that not a single word of can be mentioned inside the Great Firewall. These people, even if they're in Beijing, might be impressed by the spectacle put on by the CCP or amazed by the opulence of Zhongnanhai. But don't for a second think they'll be fooled by this so-called grandeur of a great nation. In fact, deep down, they see right through the true nature of the CCP. When it's time to put on a show, they act better than anyone else. But as soon as they step into their own live stream rooms, they tear down the CCP's stage completely. Someone posted on X saying capitalists advocate creating wealth to solve poverty, while socialists advocate eating the rich to solve poverty. Musk immediately replied saying the problem is that after they finish eating the rich, they'll starve to death. But speaking of this, when it comes to acting, the most professional has to be our American president, Trump. I have to say, Trump, who comes from a business background, is truly a master at praising Chairman Xi to the highest level. When he gives compliments, it's truly heartfelt and flows so naturally that he doesn't even need any notes. I bet after Chairman Xi hears Trump's praise, listening to flattery from people like Kai Qi and Li Hongjong must feel dull and tasteless by comparison. With this move, Trump has set a new benchmark for flattery within the party. I bet even Wang Huning will have to rack his brains to come up with even more sophisticated words to keep up. Just listen to what he said. Trump said, you are a great leader. I tell everyone this, you are a great leader. Sometimes people don't like it when I say this, but I still have to say it because it's the truth. I only speak the truth. Oh man, I really couldn't say something like that, but at least like President Trump, I also speak the truth so I can only be a self-media creator. Trump also said, we've known each other for a long time. In fact, this is the longest relationship between presidents in the history of our two countries. This is an honour for me. Our relationship is excellent and even when there are difficulties, we are able to get along and resolve issues. I would call you and you would call me. Whenever we encounter problems, people might not know this. Whenever there are problems, we always resolve them quickly. Well, whether that's actually true or not, let's not get too caught up in it. Regardless of its truth, if I were Xi Jinping, hearing that would feel really great. It's as if the two of them have had many years of friendship and only old friends with a good relationship would describe the current US-China situation, where they're actually confronting each other on all fronts in such terms. You have to understand, this isn't about surrendering or trying to curry favour. This is the highest praise Trump gives before making a deal. This time, he brought with him 30 of America's top CEOs, specifically requesting only the bosses, not their deputies. These 30 titans, each worth trillions, sat together in Beijing, watching as Trump gave Xi Jinping more face than the Himalayas are high. The CCP absolutely loves this kind of grand display and praise for their national leader. Trump is feeding them exactly what they want, but the truth is, he and these business moguls are here to carve a real chunk out of the CCP. First, he puts you on a pedestal, making it impossible for you to turn down the bill he's about to present. With such a spectacular show up front, there's much more room to negotiate the terms of reciprocity that follow. That way, they can cut even deeper, right? Isn't that how it works? The respect Trump showed was fully accepted by President Xi, and this was displayed vividly in one particular detail, the long-standing mystery of President Xi's height. Rumour has it that President Xi is about 1.73 metres tall. Standing next to Trump, who is over 1.8 metres, you'd expect a noticeable difference in height. But if you look closely... When the two of them walked side by side, they actually appeared to be evenly matched in height. What's even stranger is that when Xi Jinping stood next to Zheng Liwen from the Kuomintang, who is just over 1.7 metres tall, the effect was the same. That's a difference of 7 centimetres. What's the reason for this? When they sat down at the banquet this time, the physical mystery that had puzzled the world was finally revealed. Before the banquet began, the etiquette hostess picked up a rather thick white cushion from Trump's seat. It must have been for Trump, but if you don't use this thing, then look, once they sit down, doesn't Xi Jinping appear noticeably taller than Trump? So it turns out that Chairman Xi's greatness is in part supported by this seat cushion. During Trump's visit to China this time, there were also quite a few real, tangible conflicts. After the talks concluded yesterday afternoon, Trump and Xi Jinping visited the Temple of Heaven. He was the first sitting US president to visit the Temple of Heaven in nearly half a century, since President Ford in 1975. However, right at the entrance to the Temple of Heaven, a tense standoff lasting half an hour broke out. At that time, among the group of journalists entering the Temple of Heaven, there was a US Secret Service agent who was carrying a weapon. Chinese security immediately said, no, you can't bring a gun inside. The Americans insisted the agent stay armed to protect the president. A 30-minute standoff ensued at the entrance. An AFP reporter witnessed the incident firsthand. During the standoff, the reporter posted on X saying that American and Chinese officials engaged in a lengthy and increasingly heated discussion over whether this particular agent could bring a gun into the Temple of Heaven. 30 minutes, mind you. In the end, both sides reached some sort of compromise. The reporter did not disclose the specific details, but in any case, the agent ultimately entered with his gun. But the matter didn't end there. When Trump and Xi Jinping left the Temple of Heaven, the American press corps should have, as usual, immediately followed the presidential motorcade, since they were supposed to leave together. However, the Chinese security personnel directly locked the reporters in a small dark room and wouldn't let them out. They were told that only after General Secretary Xi had left could they leave as well. You have to understand, these were White House press corps members whose job is to closely document everything. The American staff argued their case, but the Chinese security personnel were as immovable as stone, simply refusing to relent. So the two sides found themselves in this cramped, dark room, staring at the narrow crack of the door and began an utterly absurd debate. As the presidential motorcade was about to depart, the leader of the American journalists finally lost all patience, took the lead and charged out saying, let's go, let's go. We're American media. We're leaving now. A female reporter with a Southern accent also shouted, move gently, but we're leaving now. Don't bump into anyone and don't treat us the way you did before. Notice this sentence is a real zinger. Don't treat us the way you did before. What does that mean? It means that during this visit, Chinese security had already been rough with the American journalists earlier. Do you remember when Trump visited China for the first time in 2017? His chief of staff, John Kelly, was actually grabbed by a Chinese official and a secret service agent intervened, pushing that person away. In the end, it almost turned into a physical altercation. Later, the Chinese side apologised, but this time things got even more dramatic. There's another line in that video segment the reporters all shouted together, we have to go, American media, go, go, go. So at the Temple of Heaven, a place where emperors once offered sacrifices to heaven, a scene unfolded that is quite rare in modern diplomatic history. A group of journalists, armed with cameras and recorders, forced their way through the Chinese Communist Party's obstruction inside these majestic ancient buildings, breaking through at the very last second. They jumped onto the presidential motorcade. In the end, someone even shouted, this is simply unbelievable. I think people living in Western societies simply cannot imagine experiencing this kind of treatment, nor can they understand why the Chinese Communist Party would act this way. But you have to realise that the only reason they were able to break through in the end was because they were still considered a special case within the CCP system as they were part of the official press corps. If they had been ordinary Chinese citizens, then truly there would have been no escape, even if they had wings. Sure enough, Fox News' lead anchor Brett Baier felt the iron fist of socialism just two minutes after arriving in Beijing with Trump. As soon as the camera started rolling, his first words were, big brother is watching you. This line comes from George Orwell's 1984, a novel depicting a totalitarian society where everyone is monitored, brainwashed and surveilled. So why did Baier say that? Finally, let's talk about the moment at the summit that made everyone, especially Trump, struggle to keep a straight face. When President Xi was giving his speech and reviewing history, he chose to highlight the most classic story in China-US relations, ping pong diplomacy. In 1971, the two countries' table tennis teams crossed the Pacific Ocean, opening the door between China and the US that had been closed for more than 20 years. But his elementary school level foundation was impossible to hide. 55 years ago, President Nixon sent Dr. Kissinger to visit China. China and the US launched ping pong diplomacy. Both the governments and the people of both sides worked together to open up. In this slip of the tongue, he said, it unexpectedly fit perfectly with this dramatic infiltration. Look, Rubio, who was sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party, came in, bang, Musk replied in Chinese to Mr. Li, who is being hunted by the CCP, bang. An American agent whom the CCP couldn't stop even after 30 minutes entered the temple of heaven with a gun. Another bang. The Fox News team, fined $40, immediately broadcast Beijing's tight surveillance to the whole world. Another bang. Each ping pong sound is a warning. In the grand theatre of the CCP's so-called greatness, a small bomb has gone off, but the actors on stage are still reading their scripts and they're getting them all wrong. Meanwhile, we, the audience, have already seen through everything. All right, due to time constraints, we'll stop here for today. There are still many interesting tidbits left. Do you enjoy this kind of content? If you do, I'll share more for you in short videos. If you enjoy my content, please don't forget to subscribe to ZhenGuanDian. That way, you'll be able to see the exciting programs I've prepared for you right on your YouTube homepage. And if you like my show, don't forget to give me a thumbs up as well. Also, please share and forward it to more of your friends. Every interaction from you helps my voice reach a wider audience, allowing more people to see the content I create. Here, let me first thank all of you for your support. All right, that's all for today's discussion. Thank you for watching and I wish you all a wonderful day. Let's continue to follow this historic Xi-Biden summit together. All right, see you in the next episode of ZhenGuanDian. Don't miss it. Bye-bye.