Before Trump-Xi Summit, NYT Reports Xi Jinping Privately Gave a Negative Evaluation of Trump 10 Years Ago
According to The New York Times, Chinese President Xi Jinping privately described Donald Trump as an 'immature leader who will mess up the world' to then-President Obama when Trump first won the election 10 years ago. This early judgment may have shaped subsequent U.S.-China relations.
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- 📰 Published: May 13, 2026 at 19:27
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Central News Agency, Taipei, 13th - Ahead of the 'Trump-Xi Summit' in Beijing, The New York Times reported today, citing former U.S. officials, that Chinese President Xi Jinping had expressed confusion to then-U.S. President Obama about why Trump could win the election, back when Trump first won the U.S. presidential election in late 2016. Xi also reportedly called Trump an 'immature leader' who would cause great chaos globally.
The report states that Xi Jinping had formed a judgment about Donald Trump as a person 10 years ago, and this likely shaped the way Xi has since handled international affairs, including how he will deal with the upcoming visit from Trump.
Sources revealed that when Trump first won the U.S. presidential election in late 2016, it shocked the world. A few weeks later, during his final summit with Barack Obama in Lima, Peru, Xi expressed confusion as to why American voters would elect an unconventional person like Trump as president.
Ben Rhodes, who was then a White House Deputy National Security Advisor and attended the summit, recalled that Obama explained to Xi that Trump's rise reflected the economic difficulties in the U.S. at the time, partly due to the outflow of manufacturing jobs to China and the theft of intellectual property. However, Xi was not satisfied with Obama's explanation.
Rhodes described that after hearing Obama's explanation, Xi put down his pen, crossed his arms, and said that if an 'immature leader' messes up the world, then 'the world will naturally know who to blame.'
Analysts say that with the upcoming summit between Xi and Trump in Beijing, Xi hopes to both project China's image as a 'stable and powerful global power' and maintain a sufficient level of detente with the U.S. to preserve the fragile trade truce between the two countries.
Susan Shirk, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific policy, judged that Xi would respect Trump but not flatter him. And compared to Trump's unilateral and disruptive style, Xi's style is more subtle and not as direct. (Editor: Chiu Kuo-chiang / Yang Sheng-ju) 1150513
The report states that Xi Jinping had formed a judgment about Donald Trump as a person 10 years ago, and this likely shaped the way Xi has since handled international affairs, including how he will deal with the upcoming visit from Trump.
Sources revealed that when Trump first won the U.S. presidential election in late 2016, it shocked the world. A few weeks later, during his final summit with Barack Obama in Lima, Peru, Xi expressed confusion as to why American voters would elect an unconventional person like Trump as president.
Ben Rhodes, who was then a White House Deputy National Security Advisor and attended the summit, recalled that Obama explained to Xi that Trump's rise reflected the economic difficulties in the U.S. at the time, partly due to the outflow of manufacturing jobs to China and the theft of intellectual property. However, Xi was not satisfied with Obama's explanation.
Rhodes described that after hearing Obama's explanation, Xi put down his pen, crossed his arms, and said that if an 'immature leader' messes up the world, then 'the world will naturally know who to blame.'
Analysts say that with the upcoming summit between Xi and Trump in Beijing, Xi hopes to both project China's image as a 'stable and powerful global power' and maintain a sufficient level of detente with the U.S. to preserve the fragile trade truce between the two countries.
Susan Shirk, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific policy, judged that Xi would respect Trump but not flatter him. And compared to Trump's unilateral and disruptive style, Xi's style is more subtle and not as direct. (Editor: Chiu Kuo-chiang / Yang Sheng-ju) 1150513