President Donald Trump’s state visit to China this week has produced a stark example of how reflexive partisanship replaces serious foreign-policy analysis. As Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing announced a framework for a “constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability”—the most positive bilateral signal in years—congressional Democrats responded not to the substance of the trip, but by attacking Trump for engaging at all.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) told a Politico event this week that “he wants that deal so bad that he can taste it. The guy is about to give away the farm.” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) argued that “Beijing is trying to create a more aggressive, coercive, and lawless international landscape that harms the American people,” and warned Trump to “remember who Xi Jinping” is before signing any deals. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) posted that “Xi Jinping jails dissidents, crushes free speech and abuses human rights. Yet Trump praises him—attacking American judges, journalists and educators with more venom than he ever uses to attack foreign dictators.”
These reactions, examined in Responsible Statecraft by Connor Echols, miss what is genuinely new about the moment. Trump has reversed course from the tariff warfare of early 2025. As Ali Wyne, senior adviser at the International Crisis Group, observed: “By virtue of his iconoclastic views, he has created political space, and, in turn, analytical space for a fresh conversation on China policy.” Through their criticisms, Democrats are legitimizing the increasingly outdated viewpoint of an inevitable Cold War between the two countries.
The partisan reflex runs against Democratic voters themselves. A Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey finds that 83% of Democrats oppose increased tariffs on Chinese products. A Pew Research poll shows the share of Democrats with a favorable view of China rising to 34%—a 16-point increase since 2023.