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Kristin Huang

The US military strike against Syria has overshadowed the first face-to-face meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump, but it may take the heat off the Trump administration to act tougher in talks with China, observers said.
The US attacked a Syrian airbase with a barrage of cruise missiles as Trump was hosting Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday.
The strike was in response to suspected chemical attack against civilians in Syria.
US strikes Syrian airbase with dozens of cruise missiles before Trump urges ‘civilised nations’ to end carnage of civil war
The strike diverted global attention away from the summit, in which the two leaders are expected to discuss North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme and trade disputes.
Trump has accused China of manipulating its currency value to give its exporters an unfair advantage and of failing to do enough to rein in Pyongyang.


Li Mingjiang, an associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said even though the summit had been overshadowed by the strike, it was not necessarily a bad thing for Beijing.
“With the attention shifting, it may be positive for the summit because public opinion pressure against China is diverted,” he said.
He added that controversies over trade and North Korea may be alleviated as attention in the US is deflected towards Syria.




“The meeting between Xi and Trump, supposed to be dominated by talks surrounding trade, North Korean and other tricky issues, could now be less thorny for discussions,” he said.
Donald Trump accepts Xi Jinping’s invitation to visit China
Yuan Zheng, an American affairs expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China would not be too concerned if attention drifted away from the summit because of the missile strikes.
“The issue of Syria is not the most pressing concern for China,” he said.
“China would only give a strong reaction if the US strike against North Korea, or sell arms to Taiwan.”




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Trump-Xi Jinping summit

Syria missile strike may ease pressure on Xi-Trump summit, say analysts

Shift in public attention to Middle East will lift some expectations that Trump appear tough in negotiations with China’s president, according to observers

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with their wives, first lady Melania Trump and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan are seated during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Thursday, April 6, 2017, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

In this image released by the US Navy, the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter conducts a missile strike operation against a Syrian airbase. US President Donald Trump ordered the massive military strike on Thursday in retaliation for a "chemical attack he blamed on President Bashar al-Assad. Photo: AFP

US strikes Syrian airbase with dozens of cruise missiles before Trump urges ‘civilised nations’ to end carnage of civil war

A Tomahawk cruise missile streaks away from the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter on Friday, as part of a barrage on a Syrian airbase. Photo: EPA

REFILE - ADDITIONAL CAPTION INFORMATIONU.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) fires a tomahawk land attack missile in Mediterranean Sea which U.S. Defense Department said was a part of cruise missile strike against Syria on April 7, 2017. Robert S. Price/Courtesy U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

epa05893613 A handout photo made available by the US Department of Defense on 07 April 2017 shows an aerial view of the al-Shayrat Airfield near Homs, Syria, 07 October 2016. According to media reports on 07 April 2017, The United States military launched at least 50 tomahawk cruise missiles at al-Shayrat military airfield near Homs, Syria, in response to the Syrian military's alleged use of chemical weapons in an airstrike in a rebel held area in Idlib province on 04 April. EPA/US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) departs Rota, Spain, on March 29, 2017. The United States fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria Thursday night in retaliation for this week’s gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians, the first direct American assault on the Syrian government and Donald Trump’s most dramatic military order since becoming president. The Tomahawk missiles were fired from warships USS Porter and USS Ross in the Mediterranean Sea. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Robert S. Price/U.S. Navy via AP)

epa05893612 A handout photo made available by the US Navy Office of Information shows the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) conducting strike operations while in the Mediterranean Sea, 07 April 2017. According to media reports on 07 April 2017, the United States military launched at least 50 tomahawk cruise missiles at al-Shayrat military airfield near Homs, Syria, in response to the Syrian military's alleged use of chemical weapons in an airstrike in a rebel held area in Idlib province on 04 April. EPA/SEAMAN FORD WILLIAMS / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Ivanka Trump, the daughter and assistant to President Donald Trump, third from left, stands next to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross listen as President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago, Thursday, April 6, 2017, in Palm Beach, Fla. At rights is White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump prepares to speak at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Thursday, April 6, 2017, after the U.S. fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria Thursday night in retaliation for this week's gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Shift in public attention to Middle East will lift some expectations that Trump appear tough in negotiations with China’s president, according to observers


Syria missile strike may ease pressure on Xi-Trump summit, say analysts

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Shift in public attention to Middle East will lift some expectations that Trump appear tough in negotiations with China’s president, according to observers

Shift in public attention to Middle East will lift some expectations that Trump appear tough in negotiations with China’s president, according to observers