Michael Hudson and Richard Wolff break down the Xi–Trump meeting and its aftermath. Hudson argues China gave Trump the optics he wanted—a handshake, soybean headlines, and vague goodwill—without conceding on chips, sanctions, or national security exports. Wolff situates the event within a history of hollow U.S. trade theatrics and unenforceable “agreements,” where photo ops substitute for policy. Together they trace the structural shift underway: China, Korea, Japan, and ASEAN consolidating trade independence from Washington’s tariff and sanctions regimes. Discussion expands to Europe’s deindustrial slide, the rentier dominance of U.S. policy, NVIDIA’s China fallout, and how Asia’s free-trade web contrasts with America’s nationalist isolation. Conclusion: China plays long strategy; the U.S. plays television politics.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:00 Xi–Trump optics
05:20 Soybean symbolism
09:00 Chips and sanctions
13:40 Quid pro quo diplomacy
17:00 TikTok and side deals
21:00 Japan and Korea’s bind
25:00 EV disruption
29:00 NVIDIA and chip self-reliance
34:00 Europe’s deindustrial decline
38:00 Rentier vs industrial class
42:00 ASEAN realignment
46:00 Nationalist reactions
50:00 Closing thoughts

Key takeaways
China maintained leverage; no binding deals emerged.
Tariffs and tech bans isolate the U.S., not China.
Asian regional trade now outpaces U.S. influence.
Europe trades sovereignty for high-cost dependence.
U.S. economic power rests on finance, oil, tech monopolies, and arms—not industry.