Bolder Xi Moves to Corner Trump With ‘New Relationship’ Talk (1)

Before Donald Trump had even wrapped his two days of summitry and sightseeing in Beijing, Xi Jinping declared the visit a “historic” landmark in US-China ties despite the absence of any major deals or obvious breakthroughs.

During a day that saw the Chinese leader usher Trump into his Beijing residence for lunch and a tour of its walled gardens, Xi claimed a “new” era in bilateral relations had begun. The tongue-twister phrase Chinese officials unveiled to describe that chapter was “constructive strategic stability” — a vague slogan that was left unchallenged by Trump and much of his entourage.

But the ...