Chinese President Xi Jinping (3rd R) and his wife Peng Liyuan (1st R), and U.S. President Donald Trump (3rd L) and his wife Melania Trump (1st L) have an informal afternoon tea in the Baoyun Building of the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

　　Those early exchanges were widely seen as helping to build a personal rapport between the two leaders, offering a channel to understand each other, manage differences and prevent the relationship from sliding into outright confrontation. "I have a lot of respect for President Xi," Trump has often said.

　　The past years have seen Xi's meetings with U.S. leaders using this approach -- from the Mar-a-Lago summit and the Yingtai evening talks in the Zhongnanhai compound to the long conversation by China's West Lake -- often remembered as defining moments in bilateral ties.

　　The upcoming meeting is expected to continue the tradition of high-level engagement. "The real significance of this meeting may not lie in any grand deal," said Denis Simon, a senior fellow at the Quincy Institute. "Instead, it will test whether the United States and China can establish an equilibrium."

　　Earlier this year, on Feb. 4 -- "Lichun," the traditional Chinese marker for the beginning of spring -- Xi spoke with Trump by phone for the first time in 2026, returning to the metaphor that has come to define his messages on bilateral ties.

　　"In the year ahead," Xi said, "I look forward to working with you to steer the giant ship of China-U.S. relations through winds and waves, keep it on a steady course, and achieve more major and positive outcomes."

　　AVOIDING MISCALCULATIONS