US TV blackout and midterms turmoil overshadow Xi-Trump red-carpet treatment

Domestic US political turmoil and Donald Trump’s feud with the media overshadowed a summit that Beijing hoped would project an image of China on equal footing and help stabilise ties with the United States. Trump rolled out the full red-carpet treatment for Chinese President Xi Jinping as he paid his first state visit to the US in over a decade. In addition to Trump and his wife Melania greeting Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan on the tarmac on arrival, the “many special arrangements” included a...