Trump, no longer near his object of infatuation, to ramp up pressure on trade?

Donald Trump left Beijing for Vietnam on November 10, leaving in his wake a flurry of propaganda and punditry. See below for notable coverage, and read roundups of news the day before, the first day, and the second day of Trump’s trip to Beijing on The China Project.

• Bathed in the Xi Jinping bromance / ChinaFile
  China scholar and journalist Orville Schell reacts to Trump’s exaltation of Xi: “Despite all of President Trump’s boasts about being a tough negotiator, he seemed to have become so over-infatuated with his courtship, so hungry to ingratiate himself, and so eager to be bathed in acceptance that he had ended up being taken [advantage of].”
• Chinese media hails success of Trump’s ‘pilgrimage’ to Beijing / The Guardian
  Fudan University scholar Shen Dingli adds, “Trump behaved moderately [and] respectfully … He showed respect to China’s leader and China’s culture … Xi has made Trump a better president.”
• Trump attacks countries ‘cheating’ America at Apec summit / The Guardian
  Within hours of leaving Chinese soil, where Trump gave “great credit” to China for not playing by the rules, he went on a tirade attacking countries for not “playing by the rules.”
• Opinion: Trump’s China trip an illusion of calm before the storm / SCMP
  Senior editor of the Diplomat, Ankit Panda, writes that “Trump’s speech on a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ in Da Nang in Vietnam will be limited in its effectiveness if the president isn’t seen as willing to stare down Xi in Beijing.”
• Trump in China: A former ambassador says Xi is “playing him like a fiddle” / Quartz
  Jorge Guajardo, former Mexican ambassador to China, says that Trump’s “chemistry” with Xi is fake. He says his personal experience is, “You leave that meeting thinking ‘It went great,’” but when it comes time to negotiate, Chinese officials “laugh and say ‘No, let’s not confuse all that pomp and circumstance with the meat of the matter.’”
• Trump in Beijing: Smiles mask growing tensions / Axios
  Seasoned China watcher Bill Bishop writes, “Trump may return to the U.S. and, barring a real breakthrough over the North Korea issue, begin rolling out a tougher policy towards China, especially on trade. Trump has been consistent for decades in his criticism of China and its trade practices, so the last 10 months of relative calm in the U.S.-China relationship seem more an anomaly than the status quo.”

• Propaganda
  Why Xi Jinping’s (airbrushed) face is plastered all over China / NYT (paywall)
• U.S.-China relations
  Melania Trump engages in panda diplomacy at Beijing zoo / The Guardian
  “Many on China’s Twitter-like Weibo applauded the U.S. first lady’s grace and sense of style, as well as her cultural sensitivity.”
  The diplomatic dishes China picked to keep Donald Trump happy at a state banquet / SCMP
• North Korea
  US and North Korea on track to meet for unofficial talks despite Trump threats and nuclear stand-off / SCMP
  Donald Trump prods Xi Jinping to work ‘hard’ and fast on North Korea / AFP
• Global trade
  China, US leaders square off over multi-nation trade deals / AP
  New U.S. skepticism on multilateral trade jars Pacific Rim summit / WSJ (paywall)
  Talks on taking Trans-Pacific Partnership forward put off after no-show by Canada at leaders’ meeting / The Straits Times (paywall)
• Environment
  Full launch for China nationwide carbon market now seen early 2018: govt researcher / Reuters
  India is overtaking China as the world’s top emitter of the deadly air pollutant sulfur dioxide / Quartz
• Human rights
  Citizen journalist Ding Lingjie may have been detained for posting video about Xi Jinping, lawyer says / HKFP
  One country, three systems / LARB China Channel
• Russia
  Russia is having its best-ever relationship with China: RDIF CEO / CNBC