by WorldTribune Staff, May 10, 2026 Non-AI Real World News

Did China’s Xi Jinping have foreknowledge of the Covid pandemic that in 2019-2020 effectively sabotaged President Donald Trump’s first term?

Such officially unanswered questions form the backdrop of this week’s state visit by the president in Beijing.

Behind the ceremony and statements on May 14 and 15, both men know that Trump’s second term tariff policy, take-down of the Maduro regime in Venezuela and military offensive against key China proxy Iran are primarily targeting China which has made no secret of its intent to replace the United States, as the world leading superpower

Monica Crowley, the Trump Administration’s chief of protocol, praised the president’s approach to China, noting that heading into the upcoming meeting with Xi, Trump “holds all the cards.”

Weeks before his trip, the president was predicting on social media that Xi would “give me a big, fat hug when I get there.”

Ali Wyne, senior U.S.-China research and advocacy adviser for the Washington nonprofit the Crisis Group, said the “Chinese delegation will likely do its utmost to ensure that Trump leaves Beijing believing that he has just concluded the most extraordinary state visit of his two presidencies.”

While legacy media focuses on official statements coming out of Washington and the propaganda continuously cranked out by Chinese outlets, Geostrategy-Direct.com in a series of reports in its May 5 edition pointed out that Trump embarks on his China visit amidst an all-out geostrategic conflict:

• A May 5 report noted that China, via an artificial intelligence company, is tracking U.S. military operations in the Middle East and providing the data to American adversaries.

• A May 5 report by Richard Fisher noted that Iran could access significant Chinese technology to attack Project Freedom, Trump’s move to open the Strait of Hormuz.

• In another May 5 report, Fisher wrote that two United States General rank officers have recently given frank comments about the challenges to American security from Communist China; One general has powerfully described the challenge from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) while another general has proposed a new level of coordination in Asia required to help meet that challenge.

• A fourth May 5 report noted that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is moving rapidly to construct and deploy advanced laser weapons.

The Balikatan 2026 exercises concluded on May 8 as the largest-ever iteration of the annual U.S.-Philippines joint military exercises, involving approximately 17,000 personnel and from the U.S., Philippines, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and France. Held from late April to early May, the drills focused on maritime security, territorial defense, and cyber warfare in areas near key flashpoints in the Philippines.

“It’s conducted with China in mind – even if nobody will say so,” Grant Newsham noted in a May 7 analysis for the Asia Times.

The forces are training in the area would be part of the “operational area” in the event China moves against Taiwan.

“China hates it when its intended victims are better able to defend themselves, and it’s even more irked when intended victims get together to defend themselves. There’s a reason Xi Jinping complains about ‘blocs,’ ” Newsham wrote.

“So from Balikatan and similar exercises, the free nations are enhancing their ability to resist Chinese aggression, but, as importantly, are coming to recognize that they can resist such aggression, and need not submit to inevitable Chinese domination. Maybe next year, Taiwan can be invited.”

“Every American who has the resources to go to China must go to see what we are up against,” Crowley told Breitbart News. “President Trump understands it. He gets that the CCP is an existential threat.”

2026 Contract With Our Readers

  China sets stage for Trump’s state visit amid all-out geostrategic conflict, WorldTribune.com