As Donald Trump and Xi Jinping came face to face outside China’s Great Hall of the People, the pair exchanged a historic handshake, with this opening moment laying bare the nature of their relationship — a body language expert asserting that Xi holds the upper hand.
The two leaders sat down for two hours of talks on Thursday, May 14, with the entire world looking on as Xi hailed US-China relations as the world’s “most important” and Trump declared the discussions “extremely positive”.
From the very beginning of the visit, the power dynamic between the two men has been unmistakable, according to body language expert Louise Mahler, who argued “if life is a competition, for me, Xi won.”
Analysing the pair’s first encounter, Mahler noted that both men demonstrated “their readiness to engage, eyes on eyes.”, reports the Mirror.
The expert added: “They then face each other with Trump quickly feeling the need to dominate with a second hand pat.
“Xi does not release and they seem to have a brief exchange before Trump pats Xi a second time on the hand.”
This exchange was widely interpreted as Trump’s attempt to assert dominance, though arguably without success.
“Xi holds his position and eventually instigates the time to release,” Mahler adds. “Later, while they are walking Trump puts his arm on Xi guiding him forward.
“Although these gestures are often seen as friendly, the second hand pat is also seen as a power move and the patting is seen as condescending.
“If life is a competition, for me, Xi won.”
In an interview recorded in Beijing with Fox News, the US President described the Chinese leader as “a warm person”.
During his opening remarks before the bilateral discussions, Trump also said “It’s an honour to be your friend,” before pledging that the US-China relationship “is going to be better than ever before.”
