Even for everyday people in China, President Trump\u2019s influence looms large.<\/p>\n
A steel trader in the southern city of Fuzhou said his business had been depressed by the trade war. A taxi driver in northern China complained that the increase in global gas prices amid the war in Iran meant he had to pay more at the pump.<\/p>\n
At a shopping mall in Beijing, Sunny Sun, a woman who was invested in stocks, said she was watching her portfolio, wary of the impact of announcements from the president\u2019s summit with Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s definitely some uncertainty in the market sentiment, because Trump is the kind of person who says one thing today and another tomorrow when he gets back to the United States,\u201d Ms. Sun said. \u201cHis words can actually stir up things globally.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2018Like Stand-Up Comedy\u2019<\/p>\n
Some residents were surprised to hear that Mr. Trump was visiting China, but all knew who he was. They cited his attempted assassination, his business record, his refusal to wear face masks during the pandemic, his campaign against Iran, and, of course, his tariffs.<\/p>\n
Milly Zhu in Beijing.Credit…Ana Swanson\/The New York Times<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a rather interesting person,\u201d said Milly Zhu, a 34-year-old who works in film and TV promotion and was walking in a shopping mall in Beijing. \u201cSome of his words and actions, for example regarding China, seem like stand-up comedy<\/strong> to people in China,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur President Xi might be considered, in comparison to Trump, more serious,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Often, their views were negative. Yang Saixiang, a 47-year old worker at a nail salon in a shopping mall in Fuzhou, said the Iran war had worsened her views and that many Chinese people disliked Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not friendly to China,<\/strong>\u201d she said. She said tariffs and the U.S.-China trade war had dampened earnings for her customers, and she questioned why the United States could not simply change presidents. \u201cI think at his age, he doesn\u2019t need to be president anymore,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u2018He\u2019s Quite Brutal\u2019<\/p>\n Peng Shuiming, an 18-year-old hairdresser who sat outside the Fuzhou mall playing games on his phone, said the war with Iran had further soured his opinion on the United States, which was already poor.<\/p>\n \u201cMy impression of him isn\u2019t very good; he\u2019s quite brutal<\/strong>,\u201d he said of Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n Peng Shuiming in Fuzhou, China, this week.Credit…Gilles Sabrie for The New York Times<\/p>\n Mr. Peng said he was indifferent to Mr. Trump\u2019s visit, and that whether China needed the United States was a \u201cmatter of choice. I feel China is quite powerful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Zhang Lei, a 40-year-old taxi driver in Jinan, Shandong Province, argued that China was already wealthy, with little need for foreign goods, and that it should be more assertive.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that he\u2019s taking the initiative to visit China means that China can control him, right<\/strong>?\u201d he said of Mr. Trump. \u201cIt means that this trade war isn\u2019t just unsuccessful for China, it means that the U.S. is also struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Better to Avoid Tariff Wars\u2019<\/p>\n Some of the negative views of the United States appeared to be based on misinformation circulated on social media<\/strong>. One woman cited a report that beggars in the United States eat human flesh, while Mr. Peng mentioned that his view on the United States had worsened after seeing a report during the pandemic about the United States dumping bodies in the sea.<\/p>\n Others seemed to blame Mr. Trump and the trade war for broader weakness in the Chinese economy, some of which was likely linked to the current real estate downturn, or other reasons.<\/p>\n Chen Gang, a 42-year-old steel trader in Fuzhou, said tense relations between the United States and China were hurting his business. He sells steel to the construction industry, but the sector is shrinking.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be better to avoid tariff wars<\/strong> and just cooperate amicably, without all this back and forth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mr. Chen said that Chinese leaders should be \u201cpolite and courteous\u201d to Mr. Trump \u2014 at least on the surface. \u201cPeople say nice things on the surface, but what they really mean behind the scenes is another matter. That\u2019s how it is in business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2018We Want to Get Along Well With the United States\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Many expressed hope that the meetings between Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi would set the United States and China on a more stable path. Almost all characterized China as inherently peaceful.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want war, we want peace,\u201d Ms. Zhu said. \u201cWe want to get along well with the United States<\/strong>, and we want to develop our economy. Only peace can create a better economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Shen Jianmin in Jinan, China.Credit…Ana Swanson\/The New York Times<\/p>\n In Jinan, the northern Chinese city, Shen Jianmin, a 74-year-old retiree and former farmer who was relaxing in a public plaza on Wednesday, said that Mr. Trump tended to stir up trouble for no reason. But he said the visit was a positive development.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good that the U.S. is coming to China, right?\u201d he said. \u201cThe friendship between the two countries is good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone wants a good life; which ordinary person wants to fight? When you\u2019re constantly at war, it\u2019s the ordinary people who suffer<\/strong>,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Li You contributed research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even for everyday people in China, President Trump\u2019s influence looms large. 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