The Week: Xi Comes to D.C.

• Our bad: When we argued for “school choice,” we thought choosing a good school was implied.

• In a rare gesture, President Donald Trump and his wife greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping on the tarmac as he arrived at Joint Base Andrews for a summit on trade, artificial intelligence, and global security. The president later showed off Joe Biden’s autopen, mocking a sick ex-president for the amusement of a foreign dictator. In return for the lavish welcome and the trademark Trump indignity, what will the U.S. get? Perhaps the two leaders will hash out a more durable trade agreement. Still, their decision to extend into January 2027 a tentative deal that was struck last year in South Korea suggests otherwise. Observers don’t expect much progress on AI either. And Trump is unlikely to dissuade Xi from continuing to support America’s adversaries in the Middle East—Iran and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, specifically—just as Xi will not persuade Trump to block Congress’s efforts to provide arms to Taiwan. Nor do we expect freedom for political prisoner Jimmy Lai. Many photos will be taken, but, beyond the swag and the memories, this summit’s participants are likely to return home all but empty-handed.

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• Our bad: When we argued for “school choice,” we thought choosing a good school was implied.

• In a rare gesture, President Donald Trump and his wife greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping on the tarmac as he arrived at Joint Base Andrews for a summit on trade, artificial intelligence, and global security. The president later showed off Joe Biden’s autopen, mocking a sick ex-president for the amusement of a foreign dictator. In return for the lavish welcome and the trademark Trump indignity, what will the U.S. get? Perhaps the two leaders will hash out a more durable trade agreement. Still, their decision to extend into January 2027 a tentative deal that was struck last year in South Korea suggests otherwise. Observers don’t expect much progress on AI either. And Trump is unlikely to dissuade Xi from continuing to support America’s adversaries in the Middle East—Iran and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, specifically—just as Xi will not persuade Trump to block Congress’s efforts to provide arms to Taiwan. Nor do we expect freedom for political prisoner Jimmy Lai. Many photos will be taken, but, beyond the swag and the memories, this summit’s participants are likely to return home all but empty-handed.