Trump branded 'pathetic' for handshake with Chinese President as Putin arrives in Beijing

Donald Trump has been branded “pathetic” for his behaviour during his meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, while Vladimir Putin has drawn praise for his conduct upon arriving in China. President Trump and his Russian counterpart both made separate trips to China within days of one another over the past week. The US commander-in-chief travelled to Beijing last week for high-level discussions covering a broad range of topics, including trade, investment, the war in Iran, and Taiwan.

Just days later, Russia’s President Putin touched down in Beijing for his own meeting with the Chinese leader. Mr Trump has since been widely ridiculed over the glaring contrast between his greeting of President Xi and the approach taken by his Russian counterpart.

Footage circulating on social media captures President Trump deploying his well-known ‘power move’ handshake upon landing in Beijing, seizing President Xi’s hand and yanking it towards him. The US leader is also seen patting his Chinese counterpart’s hand with his left hand.

Video of Mr Putin’s arrival, by contrast, shows the Russian and Chinese leaders exchanging greetings in a far more conventional fashion, clasping hands and turning towards the assembled cameras as they share words. One user on X, formerly Twitter, labelled Mr Trump’s conduct “pathetic”, reports the Mirror US.

They said: “Xi – he met with both, and both coming to China. Btw Putin and Xi = mutual respect. Trump and Xi – Trump trying to exert dominance, but it came as pathetic attempt, it’s only for photo op.” Another said: “The Trump handshake was pathetic, with Putin it is pure nature.”

And someone else wrote: “Putin as his handshake is of an equal. Trump handshake is of a underling as the palm is facing up in submission.”

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Mr Trump has been handed a mocking nickname in China. The US president is reportedly being called “Chuan Jianguo” on Chinese social media.

This directly translates to “Trump the Country Builder” – but, according to users, it is a sarcastic insinuation that the US leader’s confrontational foreign policy has assisted Beijing in surpassing Washington on the world stage. The moniker reportedly implies Trump is a “patriotic son” of China, working to advance their nation rather than his own.

It ridicules Trump’s attempts to undermine China while protecting US interests. Among the most visible manifestations of this have been the exceptionally high and unpredictable tariffs he slapped on China, alongside negotiating an agreement to curtail fentanyl precursors.

Paradoxically, as highlighted by the nickname, the US tariffs have compelled China to become more self-sufficient than ever before, by driving it to enhance domestic innovation in sectors such as technology, energy, and food security. The tariffs spurred China to establish new markets in Southeast Asia and Africa, diminishing its dependence on the US market.

President Xi, meanwhile, has described the relationship between Beijing and Moscow as being at “the highest level of comprehensive strategic partnership”, while Mr Putin praised ties as being at an “unprecedentedly high level”.