Rick Dunham is an American journalist and academic who has lived and worked in both China and the United States. A veteran White House correspondent who covered three presidencies for Bloomberg's Business week magazine, he served as president of the National Press Club in 2005 before relocating to Beijing, where he taught in the Global Business Journalism program at Tsinghua University for 13 years. In early 2026, he returned to the U.S. and now lives in Dallas, Texas. 

In an interview with Beijing Review, he shared his insights on U.S.President Donald Trump's China visit on May 13-15. Edited excerpts of his views follow:  

Beijing Review: During President Trump's visit, what stood out to you? Did anything happen that surprised you or felt like a “textbook moment" in China-U.S. diplomacy?  

Rick Dunham: What didn't surprise me, that I did expect and thought was done wonderfully well, was the welcoming ceremony. President Xi Jinping threw a great welcoming ceremony for Trump, who was wowed. And that's exactly how you handle Trump: make him seem important and just have wonderful ceremonies. He's very big on that. 

What also didn't really surprise me, but I did note, was the very sharp Xinhua News Agency report and the Chinese readout of their [May 14] meeting about the Taiwan question. They talked about the dangers of the U.S. and Taiwan. From the friends I've talked to in the U.S., and people who are following China closely, that's what they are worried most about — China’s military action in Taiwan. They are worried that Trump will go soft, that Trump will cut a deal and he cut Taiwan loose. I think Xi is trying to keep the pressure on Trump.  

Beijing Review: The two presidents mentioned overcoming the Thucydides Trap during the summit. Do you see a pivot from previous U.S. administrations here? 

Rick Dunham: I think it's basically the same thing that was said during George.W. Bush's administration, which was we have a lot in common and we have differences and we just should focus on what we have in common rather than letting what separates us overwhelm what we have in common. When Bush was doing it, he would come to Beijing with a long list of complaints about human rights or violation of intellectual property. The difference is Trump has different complaints. He doesn't complain that much about human rights. He might have three people who are in prison that he wants out. But he has different complaints.  

Beijing Review: You covered White House visits to China under Bill Clinton, Bush and Barack Obama. Historically, what's the biggest takeaway from these trips? Is it about deals, signals or just avoiding chaos? 

Rick Dunham: I remember interviewing President Clinton in the Oval Office before he went in 1998. That one was both symbolic and open. That was China opening up to the world, right before its accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. That was a pivotal point. That was symbolic, but that was also really practical with deals. 

I think that, over the last few years, it's been much more symbolic. The deals that are announced are all pre-negotiated. Each side wants victories, things to announce for their media, something positive. Each side has an agenda of its own that's usually a little bit different. It's basically to make sure that both sides can not only save face but come away with something good. 

I actually think the best visit in terms of public relations was Trump's first visit to Beijing, when there was the state dinner inside the “Forbidden City (the imperial palace complex in Beijing)." 

It was the first time a foreign leader had a state dinner there. Trump came away so impressed. That was all symbolic, but it changed the way he thought about China. The U.S. State Department had been very hawkish and really still is hawkish on China. But Trump's attitude toward China is different. It was a symbolic gesture that really had a personal change because it affected the personal relationship. Trump is very transactional and he's very personal. 

These trips are mostly symbolic, but that one had a personal addition, and that's important. It did not work with Joe Biden. Biden was not affected in a personal way by anything.  

That’s what I was looking for this time, to see if this visit would have a personal impact on Trump. What I think is important is not what happened in Beijing on May 13-15, but what happens at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. I think this opens the door. This was all about Xi assessing Trump and building that relationship for the next deal. 

These trips are always interesting. People always say, “Well, why do it? Nothing ever happens." But history is written as a result of these symbolic trips because they result in significant changes later on. It is the shifting of tectonic plates that are slow, that change as a result of what happened at these meetings.   

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon   

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