Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • On this episode of China Uncensored,

  • the bromance continues.

  • Hi, welcome back.

  • I'm Chris Chappell.

  • Donald Trump has completed his much anticipated

  • first state visit to China.

  • And President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping

  • spent most of the time celebrating the thing closest to their hearts.

  • Each other.

  • “A relationship with you and China is a very important one to me.”

  • The United States, the feelings we have for China

  • is a very warm feeling,

  • and I really believe it's only going to get warmer.”

  • Here they are watching home movies of themselves.

  • Aww, look, it's their first handshake!

  • They're really enjoying this.

  • And why not?!

  • It's Donald Trump,

  • the most interesting man in the world.

  • And Xi Jinping, the most

  • adjectiveless man in the world.

  • Meanwhile Melania went for a walk by herself.

  • On a big wall.

  • Xi Jinping offered Trump a rare

  • personal escort through the Forbidden City.

  • Where they admired relics from ancient China.

  • I think Xi was trying to say that's the two of them.

  • Meanwhile Melania got to see schoolchildren.

  • And a panda.

  • And finally, Xi treated Trump to a Peking Opera.

  • A fun time time was had by all.

  • So now that it's all over, what are we left with?

  • Well, there were two big topics everyone knew

  • would come up during the meetings

  • between President Trump and Xi Jinping:

  • trade and North Korea.

  • On the trade front,

  • the Trump administration has in the past

  • accused China of unfair business practices,

  • currency manipulation,

  • and intellectual property theft.

  • In fact,

  • blaming China was a true Trump campaign classic.

  • We can't allow China to rape our country,

  • and that's what they're doing.”

  • And who allowed it, anyway?

  • “I don't blame China...

  • I do blame past administrations for allowing this

  • out-of-control trade deficit to take place and to grow."

  • In other words, thanks Obama.

  • But guess who's got two thumbs

  • and isn't gonna take it anymore?

  • Yes, the dealmaker-in-chief himself.

  • Trump announced $250 billion dollars worth

  • of US China deals during his trip.

  • Details are still a bit sparse,

  • and some of those deals

  • had already been in the works

  • long before the meeting.

  • And some of them were just memorandums of understanding,

  • and not contracts.

  • But still,

  • 250 billion is a lot of dough.

  • That's like Trump's net worth times...

  • uh, we'll get back to you on that.

  • Anyway, let's take a look at some of the deals.

  • There was a $37 billion dollar deal with Boeing

  • to sell 300 planes to China.

  • And $84 billion dollar deal with China's

  • state-owned China Energy Investment Corp

  • to invest in shale gas and chemical projects in West Virginia.

  • And a $43 billion dollar deal with state-run Sinopec

  • to develop Alaska's liquid natural gas industry

  • that could create up to 12,000 American jobs.

  • Ok, so the Boeing deal is fine.

  • But I would be somewhat wary about

  • the Alaska and West Virginia deals.

  • It's hard to say since we don't know the details,

  • but in the past countries who have let China

  • invest heavily in their natural resources,

  • have had some problems.

  • But the really big win was for US companies

  • looking to invest in China.

  • China announced a new rule allow foreign companies to own 51% stakes in foreign ventures.

  • I know, that doesn't even sound very generous.

  • But previously,

  • no US company could own a controlling share

  • in a US-China joint venture.

  • Even though a Chinese company could

  • inside the United States.

  • So why is China more open to foreign investment now?

  • Is it because China is implementing meaningful rule of law

  • and wants to level the playing field?

  • Haha, no.

  • It's because China's economy is slowing down

  • and they really need the money.

  • Like when you swear you weren't going

  • to move back in with your parents,

  • but rent is really high right now, you know?

  • But still, it's a win for US companies.

  • At least for the ones that hope to become

  • the next Starbucks in China...

  • and not the next Home Depot.

  • As for North Korea,

  • Trump and Xi were in agreement.

  • "We agreed not to replicate failed approaches of the past,

  • and there were many.”

  • In other words: Thanks Obama.

  • And Hillary.

  • The Trump administration has been pushing China

  • to put even tougher sanctions on North Korea,

  • even going so far as to cut off all trade.

  • But while Trump tweeted that Xi agreed to

  • upping the sanctions,

  • as of this recording,

  • there's been no official announcements.

  • So for trade and North Korea,

  • the Trump administration made some definite progress.

  • But one of the fair criticisms of Trump's China trip was that,

  • like past presidents,

  • Trump didn't publicly talk about China's human rights issues.

  • And so far there's no indication that

  • he talked about them in private, either.

  • But there was one interesting thing.

  • The day before President Trump landed in China,

  • he declared a new holiday,

  • the National Day for the Victims of Communism.

  • Itmarks 100 years since

  • the Bolshevik Revolution took place in Russia,”

  • which gave us the Soviet Union.

  • Since then, “communist totalitarian regimes

  • around the world have killed more than

  • 100 million people

  • and subjected countless more to exploitation,

  • violence, and untold devastation.”

  • The White House said that the holiday was

  • toremember those who have died

  • and all who continue to suffer under communism.”

  • So in other words,

  • a real Hallmark Holiday.

  • Frankly, this is important and long overdue.

  • And there's an added level of deliciousness

  • in the fact that it happened right before Trump

  • went to two communist countries.

  • But it still would have been nice to have

  • the US president be more direct about

  • America's commitment to freedom and human rights.

  • What's that, Shelley?

  • Trump personally brought up the cases

  • of high-profile detainees with Xi Jinping?

  • That's great!

  • Was it Taiwanese activist Lee Ming-che?

  • Or disappeared human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng?

  • What?

  • The UCLA basketball players?!

  • Well I guess it's good to know that they are safely back home.

  • Finally, after leaving China,

  • President Trump went to Vietnam for the ASEAN summit.

  • And he's set his sights on solving the South China Sea Dispute.

  • If I can help in any way,

  • I'm a very good mediator

  • and a very good arbitrator.”

  • And Trump's offer to mediate could actually be helpful.

  • But to do that, he'll have to win the love

  • of Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte.

  • But I don't think that's going to be too hard.

  • Let's just say,

  • at this dinner party,

  • Duterte one upped Xi Jinping.

  • "Ladies and gentlemen, I sang -- uninvited --

  • a duet with Miss Pilita Corrales

  • upon the orders of the Commander in Chief of the United States."

  • Wow, international politics have gotten really strange.

  • But what about the original bromance between Trump and Xi?

  • Well, it was always in some ways a bromance of convenience.

  • Xi Jinping has been using Trump's visit to boost his own profile.

  • And while Trump is extremely warm about Xi now,

  • it is not unknown for him to suddenly change his mind.

  • And now that they're going long distance...

  • well, anything could happen.

  • What do you think of President Trump's time in China?

  • Leave your comments below.

  • Thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.

  • Once again I'm your host Chris Chappell,

  • see you next time.

  • Want to see more international leaders

  • looking silly on the global stage?

  • Then head on over to ChinaUncensored.tv.

  • We upload half hour episodes every Friday

  • that you can't see anywhere else.

  • So get on over to ChinaUncensored.tv.

On this episode of China Uncensored,

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it