“The best outcome would be something that makes Donald Trump look good, even look good to himself and that makes President Xi Jinping look good to the people watching in China. it’s a optical matter rather than a substance matter,” said former U.S.-China Business Council President, Robert A. Kapp.
While it was a strong possibility the two sides will agree on issues that will not be discussed in public, it would also be a negative if there was a failure to talk about any of issues on the meeting agenda, he added.
“If they came up with something saying ‘we have a frank and honest exchange of views, the end’, that would be a pretty dark outcome,” said Kapp.
After all, the U.S. views rising China as a strategic competitor.
“One of the reasons why this summit is so important and it needs to go on very well is that both sides have so many pressure points between them whether it’s about the South China Sea, Taiwan, East China Sea, North Korea and now trade. This is a relationship that both sides want to get right and it’s important to really see what compromises and strategies both sides are going to employ,” said Kazianis .
