{"id":135932,"date":"2026-09-24T12:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T19:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marinresists.com\/?p=135932"},"modified":"2026-09-24T15:31:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T22:31:58","slug":"","status":"pending","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/today-explained-newsletter\/503071\/xi-jinping-state-visit","title":{"rendered":"Why Americans are warming to China"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This story appeared in Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. Subscribe here<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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President Donald Trump rolled out the literal red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday afternoon, greeting his plane with a military band and a jet flyover at Maryland\u2019s Joint Base Andrews.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s a very warm welcome for the man Trump once dubbed<\/a> his \u201cenemy,\u201d and it reflects a fascinating, dramatic shift in his tone toward China \u2014 a country that Americans have also come to view more favorably over the past five years. (More on that about-face in just a minute.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Trump and Xi have lots to discuss during this week\u2019s state visit. On Wednesday, the two countries agreed to extend<\/a> the current pause in their on-again, off-again trade war \u2014 but that kicks several pressing issues, like technology restrictions and access to critical minerals, further down the road.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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AI safety advocates are also hoping the two leaders can reach some kind of agreement to slow down or safeguard AI development, following calls from a chorus of American tech executives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Several of those execs are expected<\/a> to attend a state dinner at the White House this evening, though the prospects of any substantive AI accord still seem pretty slim<\/a>. This is more a sip-sparkling-wine<\/a>-and-see-the-Archives<\/a> kind of meeting than a signing-big-deals visit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Go a little deeper<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Trump isn\u2019t the only one reassessing China these days. A trio<\/a> of recent<\/a> polls<\/a> found that Americans also feel markedly more positive about China than they did five years ago, with the largest gains among young people. On average, American sentiment toward China is about the same today as it was 10 years ago<\/a> \u2014 before Trump launched his first trade war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What changed Americans\u2019 minds about China? There is undoubtedly no one cause. It probably helps that Trump himself has changed his tune<\/a>, no longer portraying the relationship between the US and China as an existential rivalry between so-called great powers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Americans\u2019 views on China have also recovered steadily since the Covid-19 pandemic, as memories of that period fade into the rearview. And foreign-policy issues \u2014 like, say, the status of Taiwan \u2014 generally aren\u2019t top of mind for the average American voter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But there\u2019s also a cultural component here, particularly for young Americans. \u201cYounger Americans are less wedded to notions of American primacy and more comfortable with coexistence,\u201d Ryan Hass, a China scholar at the Brookings Institute, posted on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Many young Americans have, in fact, grown up embracing aspects of Chinese culture, from TikTok to Labubu. And there\u2019s a pervasive sense, in some corners<\/a>, that Western-style capitalism hasn\u2019t precisely delivered the goods.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But let\u2019s not kid ourselves here \u2014 China has plenty of problems, too. Like an economic slowdown<\/a>, a mounting demographic crisis<\/a>, and a culture of widespread political repression, to name just a few. For now, at least, an increasingly hostile US isn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One link for later<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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\u27a8 Go ahead: Eat the wheat gluten. <\/strong>Health SecretaryRobert F. Kennedy Jr. (and many, many others) have warned against the dangers of so-called ultra-processed foods. But the buzzy label lumps some nutritious items, like whole-grain bread and plant-based meats, with the likes of Twinkies and Oreos<\/a>. To gauge if something\u2019s actually healthy, check its nutrition label. And likewise, don\u2019t make the mistake of assuming a food\u2019s good for you just because it claims to be minimally processed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Before you go\u2026<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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