Western mainstream media and podcasters have dismissed the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing. When you listen to Jake Sullivan and Aaron Friedberg, China hawks from diagonally opposite political backgrounds — the liberal Democratic party elite and the neoconservative Republican camp — they are vying with each other to disparage the summit as “much ado about nothing.”
But they seem to have overlooked, or willfully ignored, an important event when Xi at the state banquet publicly praised MAGA, adding a real cornerstone for rebuilding mutual trust between the two countries.
Although no agreement was signed on the Taiwan issue, to the relief of China hawks, Trump moved quickly to counter Xi’s praise, publicly downplaying Taiwan’s strategic importance, refusing to defend Taiwan based on the traditional logic of strengthening military deterrence, and directly pressuring the Taiwanese government to make relevant adjustments on the Taiwan issue to make relevant adjustments to Taiwan. the common framework of “constructive strategic stability”.
This is a great discovery. Apart from Xi, few world leaders have praised the MAGA movement. Foreign leaders, especially US allies, rarely comment on it. There are two reasons for this:
First, they disagree with Trump’s MAGA philosophy — nationalist populism and burden-shifting national security policy.
Second, they don’t believe the movement can survive after Trump leaves office. Trumpism is considered an aberration in American history.
Even when some leaders do comment, it is often out of any specific motive, ranging from neutral approval to public praise.
Instead of publicly praising MAGA, leaders who are well-disposed to Trump either praise the man, the president, themselves, or appreciate some aspect of his policies or are ideologically aligned with him.
Based on information available through May 2026, at the top of the list of foreign leaders who have praised Trump is Vladimir Putin — although Putin has never explicitly mentioned the Make America Great Again movement by name.
Putin praised Trump’s political style and criticized American “elitism” in a manner consistent with the MAGA slogan. In 2018, Putin declared that Trump possessed “sharp political instincts” and praised his ability to connect with ordinary voters. However, Putin’s praise was not directed at the MAGA slogan itself, but indirectly praised its ideology. Putin’s comments selectively focused on populism and anti-establishment appeals.
Then there is former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who has expressed admiration for Trump and his populist political approach.
Bolsonaro publicly praised Trump’s political ideology, calling him a “model” for conservative Brazilian politics. His praise suggests alignment with Trump’s nationalist rhetoric, law and order, and the questioning of globalist institutions — hallmarks of the MAGA movement.
Some Eastern European leaders – notably Hungary’s Viktor Orbán – have praised Trump-style nationalism and anti-immigration policies, though they generally do not explicitly mention MAGA.
Orbán publicly praised Trump’s policies on immigration and nationalism. While Orbán did not directly mention Make America Great Again, he explicitly endorsed the populist and nationalist line it represents – but citing Hungary as a model instead.
Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump’s “America First” foreign policy, calling it a cornerstone of the “historic partnership” between the two countries during Trump’s presidency. This praise was directed at specific policies, not the MAGA movement itself.
Most other leaders who indirectly praise MAGA, such as Italy’s Giorgia Melloni, or France’s Marine le Pen, focus on his political style, or some of his policies, simply emphasizing ideological commonalities with the MAGA movement.
However, in this Xi-Trump meeting, Xi Jinping openly and unreservedly compared the MAGA movement to China’s great national project – the Chinese national rejuvenation movement – a form of praise unheard of before.
President Xi Jinping’s comments on the move are analytical and thoughtful praise.
Trump seems very pleased, as it is certainly useful for his image and the mid-term elections, in addition to significant trade and other economic deals. .
According to reports, Xi Jinping said,
This year also marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, and more than 300 million Americans are rekindling their patriotic, innovative, and pioneering spirit, pushing American development on a new journey.
The people of China and the United States are both great peoples, and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can be done in parallel, with mutual benefit and for the benefit of the world.
This statement highly praises Trump’s MAGA movement, even implying that the American people want to change, and suggests that the movement has effectively inspired Trump’s supporters.
Therefore, only Xi Jinping has directly and explicitly praised the MAGA movement (including its slogan and political brand itself). This greatly enhances Trump’s tarnished domestic and international image.
Xi’s remarks, from the leader of the world’s second most powerful nation, are not mere political flattery as pathetically offered to Europeans when they called him “father,” but a more thoughtful endorsement, representing the closest a foreign leader has come to explicitly acknowledging the positive value of the MAGA movement itself.
More interestingly, Xi Jinping also set a three-year timeline, apparently hoping to use the remaining three years of President Trump’s term to normalize Sino-US relations.
At the same time, Xi is betraying genuine concerns about changing US policy toward China after Trump leaves.
However, even in the post-Trump era, the common sense revolution started by Trump may not fade from American politics and will likely continue to strengthen. A group of power-busters — tech-minded, mission-driven young people represented by Vice President JD Vance — will carry the banner of the MAGA movement, as it holds tremendous appeal for working-class Americans disenchanted with globalization, immigration and the establishment political elite.
In terms of China’s policy, if the MAGA movement under Trump’s leadership can prove to be a ballast for the stabilization of political relations between the two countries, the resurgence of Chinese hawks will be effectively curbed, as the three-year stable and favorable situation will be visible to all.
Even if the democrats return to power, they will not dare to easily disrupt this constructive strategic stability and start a new cold war of “democracy against autocracy”.
Avoiding the Thucydides trap between China and the US will protect both the process of “Making America Great Again” and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. These two movements can indeed coexist and complement each other.
The establishment elite in the USA refuse to accept the fact that the MAGA movement is not only about Trump; it is about the broader cultural and political change necessary for the well-being of the American people. One of its main features, a de-ideological foreign policy will help stop the chaotic pendulum in the most important relationship, that between the US and China, to prevent an unthinkable conflict for the sake of world peace.
The author is professor emeritus of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland.
