The ‘G2’ illusion? After Xi-Trump summit, China wants equality while the US seeks deals
Por Khushboo Razdan,Fan Chen — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement 2026 Xi-Trump summits China Diplomacy In Focus The ‘G2’ illusion? After Xi-Trump summit, China wants equality while the US seeks deals
White House pageantry casts Beijing as an equal – unsettling India and raising questions about China’s Global South status
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Khushboo Razdan and Fan Chen Published: 10:30am, 8 Oct 2026 Updated: 10:36am, 8 Oct 2026 Washington and Beijing may have signed an agreement built around “reciprocity”. But a more consequential question remains unresolved: does it mean equal status for Beijing? Countries without a seat at the table are watching that ambiguity closely. The spectacle of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington – the tarmac greeting, the flyovers, the state dinner – has been interpreted less as courtesy than as a statement of rank. Some argue that China is no longer being treated as part of the Global South , but as the US’ peer.
But “reciprocity” does not necessarily mean the same thing to both sides.
For the United States, reciprocity is transactional: a concession matched by a concession, a deal measured by what each side gets in return.
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