Paramilitary police lined up in front of Tiananmen Gate near US and Chinese flags and a portrait of Mao Zedong in Beijing on Wednesday, as the Chinese capital braced for US President Donald Trump's visit. The city is under tight security, with the Temple of Heaven closed to visitors since Tuesday ahead of Trump's planned tour.
Growing Chinese nationalism
The US's apparent decline has fuelled growing Chinese nationalism, while Trump has lost his novelty value in China. Once seen as an entertainer, he is now viewed as a potential threat to Chinese interests. A visit from a US leader is no longer something to boast about, as evidenced by the removal of photographs of Joe Biden's 2011 visit to a Beijing noodle restaurant.
"If US politicians were really smart, they wouldn't try to hold China back," said Liu Cheng, 47, at the restaurant on Wednesday as he tucked into lunch. He added that US presidents often say extreme things before taking office but must face the reality of China's existence once in power.
Economic struggles and rising confidence
Although China's economy is struggling and wage growth has slowed to less than 2% in real terms in Beijing last year, a bullish nationalism is on the rise. This is fanned by state propaganda and the US's apparent decline into chaos and dysfunction, including the election of an unconventional leader like Trump. Trump's recent foreign policy gambles, from kidnapping the president of Venezuela to launching a war with Iran, have reinforced the view among ordinary Chinese that the US is a troublemaker.
Liu Chunlei, a 36-year-old taxi driver, said the issue of Taiwanese independence is driving a wedge between the two superpowers. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and is expected to push the US to soften its support for the self-governing island during the Xi-Trump summit. Still, Liu welcomed Trump's willingness to visit Beijing, saying it shows his attitude towards China is not hostile.
Security and scepticism
On the streets of Beijing, heightened security aims to ensure everything runs smoothly. The Temple of Heaven, a significant monument in US-China relations where Henry Kissinger visited on a secret trip in 1971, has been closed since Tuesday. One Chinese scholar noted that Trump wants to be seen as a trailblazer like Kissinger, but ordinary Chinese remain sceptical. On Weibo, one user wrote: "There's no point discussing anything with Trump. He'll change his mind once he gets back. What he says in the morning can also change by the afternoon."
Additional research by Yu-chen Li.
