President Donald Trump appears to be the first U.S. president to openly refer to China as a “superpower,” implicitly acknowledging the end of the unipolar post-Cold War order and the beginning of a new bipolar geopolitical era. “More than anything else, we have a massive relationship with China. We’re the two superpowers,” the president told reporters as he departed Tuesday for a trip to Beijing for a multi-day state visit and trade negotiations President Nixon “opened” China in the 1970s, Clinton integrated it into global trade in the 1990s, and Obama described it as a “peer competitor.” President Biden called it the only other nation “capable of reshaping the international order,” and now, in 2026, Trump’s comment goes a step further, applying to China the same label once reserved for the Soviet Union. At the same time, Trump immediately reasserted American primacy. “We’re the strongest nation on Earth in terms of military, and China is considered second, who knows?” he said. “I mean, who knows? But we are. There’s nobody even close.”

REPORTER: Mr. President, what is the ultimate goal of your trip to China? PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I think more than anything else, we have a massive relationship with China. We’re the two superpowers. We’re the strongest nation on Earth in terms of military. China’s considered second. Who knows? I mean, who knows? But we are. There’s nobody even close. And you see that, whether it’s Venezuela or whether it’s Iran. Iran’s military is decimated. I have a great relationship with President Xi, and I think it’s going to remain that way. We have a lot of things to discuss. I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control. We’re either going to make a deal or they’re going to be decimated. So, one way or the other, we win. REPORTER: What about- DONALD TRUMP: We’re going to be talking with President Xi about a lot of different things. I would say more than anything else will be trade.

Here are the rest of the questions Trump fielded as he departed the White House for Beijing on Tuesday, mostly about Iran, energy prices, and the economy:
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