US President Donald Trump came to China with big hopes of securing concrete agreements on trade and rare earths. Apart from agreements on soybeans and Boeing aircraft, Trump left Beijing empty-handed, literally. On Friday, Trump and his team left Beijing with nothing Chinese on his Air Force One. Not even any souvenirs. The US delegation, including White House staff and reporters, discarded every Chinese gift into a trash bin kept near the aircraft.
It was nothing new. The same playbook has been followed by US delegations in Beijing for generations. This time it happened in full public view, as the US delegation tossed out everything Chinese officials gave them during the two-day visit. It included burner phones, lapel badges, press invites and memorabilia.
TRUMP TEAM DISCARDS 'EVERYTHING CHINESE'
The reason? To prevent any possibility of Chinese spying or tracking. After all, China is known for its snooping tactics, and its spy games with America are the stuff of folklore. That story, however, is for a different day.
For the US delegation, the directive was absolute - no item of Chinese origin was permitted in the aircraft. The White House security and Secret Service enforced it at the ramp. This was revealed by Emily Goodin, the New York Post's White House Correspondent.
"American staff took everything Chinese officials handed out - credentials, burner phones from White House staff, pins for delegation - collected them before we got on AF1 and threw them in a bin at the bottom of the stairs. Nothing from China allowed on the plane," Goodin tweeted.
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In fact, spying and cybersecurity concerns have been at the heart of longstanding tensions between the US and China.
Before leaving for Washington, Trump even openly admitted that the US and China spy on one another. "It's one of those things because we spy like hell on them too," Trump told reporters when asked if confronted China's Xi Jinping about cyberattacks against American infrastructure.
This level of caution, however, is rooted in history. There have always been suspicions involving surveillance devices hidden in diplomatic gifts connected to China.
In 2023, a listening device was allegedly found inside a teapot gifted to a British embassy staffer in Beijing.
ONLY BURNER PHONE FOR TRUMP
In fact, the precautions were not just limited to the departure itself. Trump and his delegation, which included Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Elon Musk, even left their personal electronic devices in the US before travelling to China. This was done to shield against possible hacking.
Mobile phones were kept stored on Air Force One in Faraday bags, which protect data from being hacked remotely. These bags not only block wireless signals, but also keep out GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and RFID signals.
Trump and his team used only burner phones and burner email addresses throughout the trip. These "clean devices" only have the most basic functions designed to hold minimal information.
Understandably, it must have been a tough 48 hours for Trump, who is habituated to posting memes and roasting enemies on his Truth Social.
TENSIONS BEHIND THE CAMARADERIE
During the two-day summit, Trump and Xi appeared to strike a friendly tone. But behind the scenes, tensions were on full display between Chinese officials and the US Secret Service and American reporters over security protocol.
A Fox News reporter said "heated and physical clashes" took place between Chinese officials and US agents during the visit of Trump and Xi to Beijing's Temple of Heaven.
The kerfuffle stemmed from a US Secret Service agent allegedly being denied entry as he was carrying a firearm. The Chinese maintained it was against protocol, leading to a standoff.
The troublesome run-ins did not end there.
Ahead of the Trump-Xi bilateral meeting, a White House aide was trampled by Chinese reporters, The New York Post reported. While the US official was not seriously injured, the incident left the staffer shaken and bruised. It left the US delegation upset, with one official calling it a "s**t show".
Well, Trump's first visit to China in his second term was quite a show, even if it did not end up with any concrete outcome on pressing issues.
