Trump did to Xi what he did to Modi, with a preemptive post

New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 5, 2026 15:10 IST

US President Donald Trump has been consistent at least on one thing — preemptive posts. Trampoline Trump wants to be the first to make announcements after talking to readers, factually right or not, mutually decided or not. Chinese President Xi Jinping became the latest leader to get a taste of Trump's preemptive posts, just after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. That divergence was clearly visible as Trump took to Truth Social to post about his telephonic conversation with Xi and the readout by Beijing.

Trump and Xi had what the US President described as an "excellent telephone conversation" on February 4. The US President, in his usual breakneck style, posted on Truth Social about the topics both the presidents had talked about, including discussions on Chinese agreements to purchase US agricultural, aviation and energy products. However, a readout of the talks published by the state-owned Chinese news agency, Xinhua, didn't mention most of what Trump claimed, only stating that Trump "values China's concerns over Taiwan", and that the entire conversation was dominated by Xi.

Trump's latest action following his talks with Xi, is, in many ways, similar to what he did after speaking with PM Modi on Sunday. He went ahead and announced that the India-US trade deal had been finalised.

We had written that despite India and the US yet to ink a proper trade deal, or even announce the conclusion of negotiations for the same, Trump, like a kid jumping up and down on a trampoline, jumped the gun and stated on Truth Social India that New Delhi would stop buying Russian oil, invest in US infrastructure and industrial projects, buy American agricultural goods, and eliminate all tariffs on US imports.

India's Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, said on Thursday that a joint statement on the India-US trade deal would be made "in the next four-five days".

However, Trump's post on the trade deal on Sunday immediately put the Modi government in a spot, giving ample ammunition to many in India who argued that Trump's terms amounted to India "surrendering" to "US bullying". In the absence of any concrete deal to fall back on, Goyal was compelled to post multiple reassurances that any deal, when signed, would be in India's best interests and would not compromise on the welfare of India's farmers by exposing them to US agricultural imports.

Similarly, following his telephone conversation with Xi, Trump went on Truth Social to describe his "excellent telephone conversation with President Xi, of China". Just like after his conversation with Modi, Trump made tall claims as to how China would purchase US oil and energy, increase purchases of soyabeans, aircraft engines and other commodities, and claimed to have had discussions on subjects like Taiwan, Iran, the Russia-Ukraine war among others.

However, the readout of the talks published by Xinhua, the state-run news agency, didn't include any of Trump's claims about soyabeans/aircraft sales or Iran/Russia.

The readout stated that Xi discussed the current state of US-China relations and how they could be improved, China's desire to cooperate with the US, as well as emphasising that Taiwan is China's core issue, insisting that the island is a Chinese territory that will never be allowed to remain separate, and warned the US to be extremely cautious with arms sales to Taiwan.

In fact, the only thing common between Trump's post and the Xinhua readout is the US President's praise for Xi.

As Trump stated, "The relationship with China, and my personal relationship with President Xi, is an extremely good one, and we both realise how important it is to keep it that way." This is backed up by the Xinhua readout which reads, "Trump stated that both the United States and China are great nations, and the US-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. He said he has a great relationship with President Xi Jinping and deeply respects him."

That President Trump's actions are driven by his whims and desires is well known, and his reaction after his February 4 talks with Xi only reinforces that. Much like after his talk with PM Modi, Trump once again claimed to have extracted terms with little to no basis in reality.

As far as China is concerned, the conversation was focused around China's red lines over the US meddling in its dispute with Taiwan, not about soyabeans or aircraft like Trump claimed.

We do not know what was actually discussed between the two because there was no joint statement. However, what is clear is that Trump chose to highlight what he chose suited him best even before a statement by either side could officially be released. If there is one thing that is clear, Trampoline Trump has once again bypassed proper bilateral agreements to drum up his own achievements, imagined or otherwise.

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