Ancient China did not leave the cosmic order in the hands of amateurs. For two millennia, the emperor himself was responsible for winning over the gods in the Temple of Heaven. As if his elaborate annual rituals were what kept the world ticking. This Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping will accompany the sacred navel of Beijing to his American guest, Donald Trump. And a world on edge may wonder what their respective offerings will yield.
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The two most powerful men on Earth will also visit the Temple of Good Harvests, built on the same esplanade by the Ming dynasty six hundred years ago. In the past, the emperor fasted for three days in the nearby Pavilion of Abstinence before offering his sacrifices. It is doubtful that Trump has fasted, but at least he is teetotal. So he should not refrain from praying that the Midwest soybean harvests return to Chinese supermarkets in time for the midterm elections.
The U.S. president must be careful what he wishes for aloud, because the acoustics of the place are tremendous. Not only for the auditory pavilion of the gods but also for that of the humans, mostly Chinese, who crowd the place to check it out. However, the temple and its two hundred hectares of garden have been closed to the public since yesterday.
Awaiting Donald Trump and his large entourage, who are spread between the Four Seasons and Kempinski hotels, about a dozen kilometers away. But the two presidents could head there directly at the end of their morning meeting, at the Great Hall of the People, ten minutes away.
The same Tiananmen Square borders the Forbidden City, where in 2017 Donald and Melania Trump had tea alongside Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan. Chinese diplomacy leaves nothing to chance and it was in the Treasure Pavilion, built in 1915 with the collaboration of the U.S.
The symbolism of the Temple of Heaven is not gratuitous either. The Communist Party of China, under Xi Jinping, identifies itself as the natural heir of the imperial order, based on meritocracy and certain Confucian values.
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Today we know that Xi, in the role of “philosopher emperor,” dedicated his Beijing recess with Barack Obama to discussing history and political theory more than concrete policies. Bets are accepted on the conversation with Donald Trump.
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In the past, the emperor sacrificed a perfect ox there. Beef is also on Trump’s list. If it is about caressing the sky, there is Boeing, which has not received any major orders from China since the last decade.
The interior of the Temple of Heaven is not open to tourists, to preserve the fragility of its noble wood floors – which only the emperor’s soles once trod – its jades and its silks. Donald Trump could even close his eyes and – mirror, mirror – ask who reigns.
Xi Jinping’s inscrutable smile will not clear up any doubts. The archives, however, are more cruel. Since the last time both presidents met, on October 30 in Busan, South Korea, Xi has not left China again. Why, when the greats of this world line up to get an audience at the Beijing court. A preferable format for the Chinese government, which by playing at home controls the choreography – free of protests – and spreads its narrative.
The visit of the U.S. president is the culmination. But in the last six months, Xi has received the kings of Spain and Thailand, the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Canada, the presidents of France and Spain, the chancellor of Germany, etc. etc.
The visit of the U.S. president is the culmination as Xi has received in Beijing in the last six months the kings of Spain and Thailand, the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Canada, the presidents of France and Spain, and the chancellor of Germany
This Wednesday, the front pages of the Chinese press gave much more importance to the ongoing visit of the president of Tajikistan than to that of Donald Trump, who landed at night. As for this one, Chinese government spokespeople refer to the cosmic order: the summit is a bet on stability. Or at least, on the pursuit of it, in trade and international relations.
In public, China presents itself as the great defender of multipolar order and the Global South. Although some, both in Washington and Beijing, would gladly turn the G20 into a G2. For the Taoist pantheon, moreover, there is only one “Son of Heaven.” The rest are tributary kingdoms.
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